The Kids Will Be Fine
by Syvania
Summary: Perry Stark seems to be following in her uncle's footsteps when it comes to getting into things she shouldn't. When Nick Fury decides the best course of action is to lock her up in Stark Tower, Tony and Bruce soon find that she is both a blessing and a curse to a certain green rage monster. Bruce X OC.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: This is my first Avengers fanfic. I just couldn't get it out of my head! I am using a little creative freedom with the original established story line for the Hulk. Nothing major, so no worries there. I hope you enjoy and please review :)**

* * *

It wasn't the fact that Tony came crashing into the lab so loudly and unexpectedly that caused Bruce Banner to drop his coffee mug full of piping hot coffee, but rather that he came crashing into the lab with a woman in tow. In the months that Bruce had been living at Stark tower Tony had adhered to his strict "No girls allowed" rule in the lab that the Sci-bros (Tony coined the phrase) shared, even barring Pepper from the room. Now that he had broken that rule, Bruce was beginning to see why it was in place to begin with.

Half-heartedly attempting to clean off the newly formed coffee stain on his thigh, Bruce came around the table to meet the woman. "Um…Hello, I am Bruce," he said evenly, which was a striking contrast to the other two in the room.

The girl and Tony were glaring at each other, clearly attempting to face off in a duel of wits, or maybe to pull each other's hair. Knowing Tony, either was possible. Bruce watched them for a few moments, waiting patiently for an introduction, or at least an explanation.

It was Tony who finally broke the silence. "Bruce, meet my hillbilly niece, Perry Stark." Bruce gave her an awkward nod, to which she replied with a polite smile, before returning her eye-daggers to the side of Tony's head. "Perry, you already know everything about my colleagues, I trust you can figure this one out on your own."

Niece, interesting. That explained the resemblance between the two. Perry was an average height, with shoulder length dark hair and brown eyes. She was very pretty, Bruce noted, and exuded a sort of cocky air, much like Tony himself. Casting a glance down, he couldn't help but to notice that she was wearing a St. Louis Cardinals shirt, snug across the chest, and cut-off shorts that showed off her defined legs. Staring at her thighs, he wondered if she was a runner or maybe she was more into yoga…

Tony cleared his throat loudly, breaking Bruce out of his thoughts. The doctor blushed and drew his eyes away from Perry and saw that Tony was giving him a bemused smirk.

"Thanks to some 'self-guided exploration' of S.H.I.E.L.D. records, Nick Fury has sentenced my dear niece to imprisonment in Stark tower," said Tony.

"You hacked into S.H.I.E.L.D.?" asked Bruce, his eyes wide in amazement. "You really are related to Tony."

Perry gave him a smug look, allowing her eyes to drop slowly to where his top buttons were open giving her a glimpse his hairy chest. Bruce felt his mouth go suddenly dry and he desperately turned his gaze away to anything but her.

"Nick Fury is so wrapped up in the omnipotence of his position, I figured spreading the wealth of knowledge amongst us poor lowly citizens would be a humbling experience for him. Besides, they wouldn't let me play in their labs," She explained.

"And that brings me to another point," said Tony, waving his hand wildly in the air. "Perry will be sharing our lab. Nick seems to think she would be of some use to us since she is stuck here anyway, and I have to keep an eye on her." Tony's voiced dripped with disdain.

"Ok, I am fine with sharing," said Bruce, confused by Tony's reluctance.

Sighing dramatically, Tony shot another glare at Perry. "Let's just say that the black sheep of the family is in the room and isn't me."

What the hell did that mean? Shaking his head, Bruce gave Perry a very confused look. "I am sorry, but your uncle has decided to start speaking in code…again."

Just as before, the girl gave him a nice smile before turning a nasty look onto Tony. "My _uncle_ doesn't like the fact that I studied biology – "

Tony snorted indignantly.

"- and biotechnology, and genetics... Apparently it violates some imagined Stark family tradition that Tony has."

"While I was out saving the world with a suit that made out of scrap, this one was poking at cells under a microscope. Hmmm, I wonder who was making a real impact," He said loudly to be heard over Perry's angry muttering.

"I sometimes poke at cells under a microscope," said Bruce quietly with a feigned look of irritation.

A mini look of horror crossed Tony's face before he quickly recovered. " Well, I have this tower and she has a shack in the Everglades."

Bruce cocked his head. "Everglades?" he asked. "What sort of work did you do there?"

Perry's eyes lit up, and she leaned forward a little to break into a full scale description of her work. As she opened her mouth, Tony cut her off.

"You two can have a borefest later. Perry needs to go to her room and think about why she is here." Looking at his niece, he said," You're grounded. Maybe I should have you write lines or something. I am pretty sure getting stuck in Stark tower doesn't count as punishment."

"Oh my god,_ Dad_, you are so mean!" shouted Perry, humor dancing in her eyes.

"Go to your room!" roared Tony.

* * *

As expected, Perry chose to ignore Tony's orders to go to her room opting instead to explore the other R&D floors of Stark tower. Two floors down she came across her new favorite trio. Inside the astrophysics lab, a dark haired girl names Darcy Lewis was carefully aiming paper airplanes at the back of a rather glorious head of blond hair. The Blond hair, as it turned out, was attached to a rather glorious Norse god named Thor, whose attention was currently directed at an episode of Walker Texas Ranger. The third member of the group, Jane, was carefully studying a series of photographs on the computer, each featuring an odd blue glow in the center of a night sky.

Letting herself into the lab, Perry made a beeline for Darcy.

"How do you sleep at night knowing this man-meat is in the next room," she asked, careful to not be heard by said man-meat and his girlfriend.

Darcy grinned. "Let's just say daily meetings with Captain America help me get my muscle fix."

Perry nodded approvingly. "Mmmm, good choice. So you and the Cap…"

"I wish. He is kind of old fashioned and he doesn't pick up on shameless flirting very well."

"Ah yes, the most beautiful men are always the most oblivious. I am Perry Stark, by the way," she said, sticking out her hand, which Darcy shook with gusto.

"Perry Stark? Any connection to the 'Man of Iron'?"

Perry rolled her eyes. "Unfortunately, yes. He is my uncle and I am imprisoned here by the cheer-monster, Fury."

Darcy nodded wistfully. "Ah yes, me too."

"What did you do to earn such a punishment?"

Throwing another paper airplane, Darcy managed to clip Thor on the back of his head. Rubbing his head furiously, he turned around and scowled at the assistant. "He was just about to roundhouse kick that man in the face! You made me miss it!"

Snickering, Darcy turned back to Perry. "Apparently Jane is not S.H.I.E.L.D. material, even though she is brilliant. Thor goes wherever Jane goes, so to keep close tabs on him they asked Tony to let them stay here. And since I know too much and Jane won't let them kill me, I am stuck here too."

"That sounds terrible."

Darcy shrugged. "I get paid more than I deserve and I can't object to the scenery." She gestured to the god sitting across the room.

"What did you do get stuck here?" Darcy asked, more as an afterthought.

"Oh I just helped myself to some fantastic reading material on the S.H.I.E.L.D. server, so I also know too much. As Tony's next of kin, they can't kill me either."

"Niiiiccee," drawled Darcy. "I can't even hack into Fury's facebook page. Oh to be burdened with this knowledge…" the girls let their eyes wander over to Thor who was doing a weird shadow-kickboxing dance during the commercial break.

"I caught him wearing Jane's underwear the other day," Darcy whispered. "He claims that they got mixed in his laundry."

Perry snickered at the mental image. "Nick worked undercover as a bouncer at a gay club in the 80's. He also moonlighted as a drag queen named 'Nikita'," she said.

A glazed look covered Darcy's face. "Oh my god, you _have_ to get me pictures of that!"

"I think that can be arranged," Perry said, grinning at her new friend.

* * *

The next morning, Perry found herself wandering down to the lab at 6:00. Always an early riser, she liked the idea of having a chance to explore the lab before Tony came in and messed everything up. Plus, she was going to have to order some equipment. There was a perfectly good lab a few floors below, one that was better suited for her research, but Tony wanted to keep a close eye on her and wouldn't let her work anywhere else. He was turning into such a mother hen that Perry was going to have to start clucking at him.

An hour later, Bruce came down to the lab and was quite surprised to find Perry already there. The young woman was sitting on the floor, using her hands to carefully manipulate the image of a DNA structure on one of Tony's holo-screens. Spinning it around quickly, the spiral became a blur of color. "Wicked," she breathed, not aware that she was being watched.

With some strange compulsion blocking all mental capacities, Bruce joined her in sitting on the floor and looking up at the DNA, which was now moving in a slow rotation. Perry acknowledged him with a small smile and turned back to the image.

"Is this your DNA?" he asked.

Perry nodded.

"Well your DNA is quite lovely," he said. Where the hell had that come from?

Giving him an odd look, a slow smile spread across her face. "Thank you."

"I-I-I just mean the spectrum, it is a nice combination," he stuttered, his face turning bright red.

Perry's grin widened, and Bruce was immediately struck with how much she looked like Tony when he had that mischievous light in his eye.

"I know what you mean, and thank you. Not everyone can appreciate good looking DNA."

Bruce rolled his eyes. Yep, definitely a Stark.

Nudging him, Perry caught Bruce's attention again. "So when are you going to show me your DNA?" she asked, wiggling her eyebrows suggestively.

Bruce sighed. Of course, there was a catch. "Why are you really here, Perry? Does Nick think that you can save me?"

He did not mind that they were trying to cure him. He had been trying for years, but was never successful. He just did not like the underhanded methods that Nick Fury used. First he tells him that he just wants a little help locating the tesseract. Then he sends an agent who claims to be alone and not with and entire platoon of gunmen. Then it is revealed that guess what, S.H.E.I.L.D. wants the tesseract for weapons not clean energy. There was nothing up front or honest about Nick Fury. Tony on the other hand hid nothing from Bruce.

Perry bit her lip and looked down at the floor. With a swipe of her hand, the DNA model disappeared. "Nick does want me to try and help, but that isn't why I am here."

"Then why? I find it very hard to believe that Nick Fury would allow a hacker to live with Tony Stark, of all people."

Perry smirked. "I suppose that was a rather crummy story. Trust me, I didn't want to go along with it. Look, Tony can't know why I am really here or he will totally freak out. Let's go get breakfast, and I will tell you a bit more about it."

Bruce hesitated. Breakfast, with Perry, in the real world? It sounded like a very bad combination. "Ok, fine. You can tell me everything over coffee," he said, surprising himself as the words came out of his mouth.

Standing up, Perry gave Bruce her hand to help him up. "You know," she said as they stood momentarily chest-to-chest," I really do want to see your DNA. I bet it is pretty too."

Bruce snorted and rolled his eyes. "Your uncle killed the effect of flattery on me long ago."

* * *

"So let me get this straight," said Bruce as he and Perry dug into their bacon and eggs. "You have an encounter with a massive and highly dangerous maybe-alien, and your first reaction is to hack into S.H.I.E.L.D. to see if they have any files on them?"

Perry nodded, her expression confused by his reaction. "Of course, what else would I have done?"

"Oh I don't know, call the police maybe?"

Perry laughed. "The police would have locked me up for being crazy. I was fine. I had the thing hogtied in my bathroom, so it wasn't going to do anymore damage. S.H.I.E.L.D. didn't have information on the thing, so I called Nick Fury myself and told him that I started a new file on the creepy alien that was hanging out in my house."

"You started a file…" muttered Bruce, pinching the bridge of his nose.

"Yeah, I did. And then Fury swooped in, like a damn bird of prey, took the guy out of my bathroom and made me come with them. I tell you what there is no 'Hi, how are you ' with him…"

Bruce furrowed his brow. S.H.I.E.L.D. had captured a dangerous alien and neglected to tell the Avengers? Wasn't protecting the innocents from big raging aliens the entire point of the team?

"….I bet he skips out on foreplay too. He probably walks in the room and shouts 'Panties off, _now_." Perry's impersonation of the formidable director was horribly accurate.

"Wha-what?!" sputtered Bruce, finding the second coffee stain in two days developing on his clothes.

Perry snickered at the poor man's embarrassment.

Sighing, Bruce mopped up his mess with a napkin. "It is unnerving how much you two are alike," he muttered, tossing the soggy napkin onto his empty plate.

Perry gave him a pained look. "Take that back."

Smiling faintly, Bruce proceeded to the other question that was playing in the back of his mind. "What work were you doing in the Everglades?"

"Oh that, it wasn't much really," Perry frowned. "Ok, it was pretty big, but I wasn't getting a lot of support on that project. Basically, I found that stem cells from the Florida Reef Gecko were surprisingly resistant damage from high doses of radiation – specifically, cancer caused by gamma radiation. When irradiated cells were introduced to the lizards, I was able to use their own stem cells to stabilize them."

Bruce wrinkled his brow, his face thoughtful as he considered what she was saying. "Do the cells reverse the damage, or just keep it from getting worse?"

"They just keep it from getting worse. I wanted to take the research a step further and see what if some simple manipulation could reverse the damage, or – "

"Create a whole new form of cancer," finished Bruce. He shook his head. "That would be very risky, trust me, I know what a bit of gamma radiation can do." His voice was bitter, and Perry didn't try to stop herself from placing a comforting hand on his. Bruce stared down at her hand, his mouth set in a hard line, and slowly covered it with his other warm hand.

"Before going to the Everglades, I worked in Chernobyl. I was studying the long-term effects of radiation on the environment. There has already been a great deal of research in that area, but nobody has been able to collect the sheer amount of data that I collected there. Most radiation research has been done in labs, but I wanted to be there first hand, and to collect real information from the field. As expected, I found that extended exposure slowly kills the body, while intense high levels cause…well… you know." Her voice was gentle, and Bruce thought he heard some sadness mingled in her words. Squeezing her hand lightly, he drew his hands back and clasped them in his lap.

"Why did you leave Chernobyl? I can't imagine that it was safe for you to work there."

Perry furrowed her brow. "No it really wasn't safe to be there, but that didn't matter. I would have stayed longer, but Tony dragged me out and demanded that I do my research elsewhere. So I moved on, ended up in the Everglades and made some major discoveries, at least I think so. I tried to go to Fukushima, you know, since I am a mini expert on radiation damage, but Tony made sure that didn't happen either."

Bruce shook his head. "He cares about you. And I don't blame him. If I was him, I wouldn't let you either."

Perry's expression darkened and she sat stiffly in her chair. "You wouldn't _let_ me go?" Her voice took a dangerously icy tone.

Bruce let out and exasperated sigh and raked his hand through his wavy brown hair. "Damn right I wouldn't. As I said, I know just how dangerous that radiation can be."

Perry didn't answer; she just gave Bruce a curious look before a grin broke her grim expression. "I suppose I can't argue with that. So tell me about working with Tony. Have you seen his I-figured-something-out dance?"

Bruce chuckled and relaxed in his seat a bit. "Yeah, I've seen that dance. He has a song for it too."

Perry's grin was just shy of being evil. "Your mission now, my angry friend, is to capture this on video. I will ensure that it gets in all the right hands."


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: This is a long and dialog heavy chapter. I apologize, but it is an important chapter. Some of it may be a bit confusing, but it will make sense later in the story. I hope you enjoy and I looooove feedback :)**

* * *

"You are NOT putting rodents in my lab!" roared Tony.

Ignoring him, Perry continued transferring white lab mice into the new cage that was constructed on the edge of her freshly stocked work area. On her first day in the lab, Perry immediately staked out a corner and demanded that it be reconstructed to meet all of her research needs. Tony grumbled, a lot, but complied with her orders.

"I mean it, Perry. I can't think with all of those rats squeaking and scampering and being rats…"

"They're mice, Tony, said Bruce quietly from his computer.

"You stay out of this!"

Bruce chuckled, taking off his glasses so he could watch the scene in front of him. Despite all of Tony's big talk and shouting, he knew that Perry would win this argument. In the week that she had been there, Bruce noticed that she had Tony securely wrapped around her little finger.

Snapping the cage door shut, Perry rounded on her uncle. "You are the one who is making me work in this lab when I could be downstairs with the other bio-heads!"

"Bio-heads?!" Tony's voice had jumped up in octave. "Where the hell did that name come from?"

"I believe you are the one who came up with that name, just as you call engineering 'nuts and bolts', and geology 'dirt bags', and us 'sci-bros'…" piped up Bruce. Tony glared at him, getting another chuckle from the doctor.

"Seriously, Tony, I am a scientist, not a child. I can work without having someone stand over my shoulder. It's not like I am going to accidently to kill myself or something."

"Aren't you though?" he asked darkly.

The color drained from Perry's face, and for a moment she looked as though she might slap her uncle. Bruce began walking around his desk just in case.

"Leave me the fuck alone, Tony," she said coldly, pushing past him and leaving the lab.

Bruce's eyes followed her, one eyebrow raised in confusion. Tony and Perry usually bickered, but he had never seen either of them react in cold anger. He suddenly felt like the third wheel of an inside joke that wasn't funny.

Tony let out a sound of frustration, slamming his fist down on the table. Without a word, he too stalked out of the lab.

* * *

Steve Rogers was minding his own business, walking down to Tony Stark's rather amazing garage, when he was apprehended by a crazy woman.

For the past year, Tony had graciously allowed Steve to borrow a corner of the garage for a little remodel project. The captain may not have been up to date with all of the latest technology and most current sports cars that Stark Tower held, but he had caught up to at least the 50's. In this garage sat a beautiful 1957 Chevy Bel Air that Steve was rebuilding from the frame up. It was such a lovely piece of machinery, and despite being teased relentlessly by Tony for his old fashioned All-American tastes, he admired the advancements in vehicles from the time he was frozen to 1957.

A little over week after the arrival of Tony's niece, Steve finally got to meet her. He was almost to the end of the hallway, where it stopped with the door to his workroom, when he saw a young woman struggling to open the door before it. She was a pretty lady with dark hair and eyes. In some ways she reminded him of Darcy Lewis, although she was a few years older.

"You!" She shouted, turning to face him as he approached. "You look strong, maybe you can help me get this door open. It sticks."

Steve looked down at her with surprise. Women were so forthcoming in the 21st century. "Yes ma'am, I can try." He said politely.

Bracing his shoulder against the door, Steve pushed as hard as he could, but it would not budge. "Hmmm, it is really stuck," he muttered.

"Maybe if you take it at a bit of a run," suggested the young woman. Her brown eyes had a sweet, innocent look that Steve could not resist.

Taking a few steps back, he slammed into the door with his shoulder, but it still would not budge. Frowning, he wiggled the handle experimentally.

"Are you sure it isn't locked?"

The girls shook her head. "It definitely isn't locked. I just came out of there and now I can't get back in." Giving him a sly look she added, "If you can't get it open I will just have to ask Thor."

Steve's frown deepened. There was no need to get Thor involved with a little door opening. Walking all the way across the hallway, he took off toward the door again with a run. Turning just as he reached the door, he landed a heavy kick right in the middle of it. The door splintered open and the door handle landed on the floor with the deadbolt securely in the locked position.

Steve picked up the handle and inspected it. "It wasn't locked, huh?"

The girl gave him a wicked grin, one that he was sure he had seen before. "Oops," was all she said. Moving past him, she started to step into the room.

"Who are you?" he asked, still holding the door handle.

Slowly, she turned to face him again. "I'm Perry Stark. It is a pleasure to meet you Captain Rogers. And don't worry, Tony won't blame you for breaking his door." With a final wink, the slammed the remains of the door shut.

Steve stood frozen to the spot. Of course that was Tony's niece. He should have known right away, she had Stark written all over her. That meant she was going to be nothing but trouble, he was sure of it.

Finally dropping the door handle, he headed on into his workshop. Being around Tony, he quickly learned that the man could be his greatest friend or biggest enemy. After meeting the niece, he decided that she was not too far off from her uncle. It was time to make a new friend.

* * *

Bruce was alone in the lab for the first time in ten days. It was incredible just how lonely it seemed without Perry there, even after such a short time. Before she came, he regularly worked alone while Tony was off doing whatever Tony does. After Perry arrived, she struck up an immediate rapport with Bruce, making his quiet days working much more interesting. Since she was dividing her time between her independent research and Hulk research, he found himself subject to her pokes, prods, and questions on a daily basis. Of course he didn't mind because she had an uncanny way of making the unpleasant tests downright enjoyable.

But despite the easy banter they had in the lab, and despite the fact that Bruce was inexplicitly drawn to Perry, he kept her at a distance rather than falling into friendship. It undoubtedly wasn't easy for him to keep her away, but he was certain that it was necessary. She was confident, smooth, and friendly – all the things that Bruce could not resist. That is how Tony had wormed himself into Bruce's life and got him set up at Stark Tower. He could easily see Perry worming her way in and causing all sorts of havoc.

No it was better to just remain cordial lab partners and nothing more.

But it was just so damn lonely without her there.

Bruce's quiet thoughts were soon broken by Tony, as he came whistling into the lab. Glancing around, he quickly noticed the missing element.

"Where is Perry?" he asked slowly, looking at the doctor as though he might be hiding her behind him.

Bruce gave him a concerned look. "I haven't seen her today. Is she missing?"

Tony scowled. "JARVIS! Call Pepper!" he shouted. Bruce raised an eyebrow. And they thought he had anger management issues.

"What is it, Tony," came Pepper's voice over the intercom. She sounded tired despite it being early in the day. Living with Tony could wear a person out.

"Have you seen Perry today?" he asked sharply.

"Isn't it one of her headache days? "asked Pepper. Her voice had changed from weariness to concern.

Tony furrowed his brow in thought. Silently, he counted on his fingers. Bruce was beyond confused at what they were referring to.

"Shit, that is today," he said, finally coming to the answer he wanted. "But she wasn't in her room…"

Just then JARVIS announced that there was a security breach on the garage level. A surveillance video showed Captain America himself busting down the extremely locked door to Tony's newest creation (a high speed motorcycle) while Perry stood by.

"Why would Steve break into your garage, Tony?" asked Bruce. It defied all logic that Mr. Morals would be committing a little breaking and entering, although he had done it before. "Tony?" asked Bruce again when he didn't get an answer. Turning, he saw that Tony's face was redder than his metal suit.

"I'm gonna kill her," he said.

"No you are not," replied Pepper in her tired voice again.

"JARVIS!" Shouted Tony. "Where is Perry now?"

A new surveillance video, a current one, flashed onto the screen and showed Perry running her hand along he smooth lines of Tony's shiny red motorcycle.

"Do not activate the bike for her under any circumstances," Tony ordered JARVIS. "Even if she overrides the system."

"I don't think she wants to ride it," said Bruce as he continued to watch her. "It seems like she is just looking at it."

Tony rolled his eyes. "I am not going to risk it. You go down and talk to her, I will make sure she doesn't try to take out JARVIS or something."

Bruce shook his head. "Why me? Why don't you go talk to her. You're the one who knows what the hell is going on."

"Na-uh, she actually likes you. If I went down there she would run me over with that bike."

Bruce couldn't disagree with that. "I am pretty sure sending someone with my rage issues isn't going to help matters any," he muttered. It was a last ditch effort, but he had to try.

Unfortunately, Tony wasn't taking the bait. Throwing his head back, he let out a loud laugh that scared Bruce as much as it annoyed him. Scowling, he stood up slowly and shuffled towards the door.

* * *

Perry was still downstairs when Bruce finally got there. He had walked very slowly, hoping that she would have escaped before he got there. What was he supposed to say? Be a good girl because your uncle gets angry? You are a grown woman but we're going to treat you like a teenager? This whole situation was ridiculous. Never in his wildest dreams did he think that he would be talking down a couple of oversized adolescents.

Shaking his head when he saw the broken door, Bruce quietly entered the room and quickly spotted Perry. She was now sitting on the massive motorcycle, leaning forward so her chest rested on the gas tank, and her arms dangled over the handlebars. She was dressed in a green tank top and her favorite cutoffs, the ones that gave Bruce the best view of her legs. He froze momentarily, unbearably distracted by the view.

"Tony sent you," she said quietly, breaking Bruce from his study.

Clearing his throat to erase any embarrassment from his voice, he stepped forward so he was standing beside her. "He did."

Reaching out to run his hand over the rear fender, Bruce continued. "He is worried about you. That's why he acts like that."

Perry sighed loudly. "He is smothering me," she muttered.

Bruce bit back the urge to laugh. He really was dealing with a teenager. Moving in front of her, Bruce crouched down so he could meet her gaze.

"You are essentially Tony's only daughter. It is no wonder he works so hard to keep you safe."

Perry frowned. "I am 30 years old and I have been dragged away from my happy life to live with my 'dad'. Surely you can't blame me for being a bit unhappy about it."

Bruce sighed and ran his hand through his hair. He hated to admit it, but he could see both sides of their argument. "Look, I don't know why they made you come here, but I do know that there are things that you and Tony aren't telling me. What I am telling you is based on observation only. Whether or not it is safer for you to be here is not the issue. You have an opportunity to live in the most impressive building in the country, to work in the best labs in the country, to have the biggest budget you will ever get, and to experiment on the most volatile member of the Avengers. Being good and appeasing Tony for a bit is worth all of that. I know, because that is exactly what I am doing."

Perry stared down at him, her eyes narrowed as though she was trying to think of an argument. Realizing that there was no good rebuttal, she sighed and gave Bruce a small nod. He understood that to mean that she would be good.

Giving her a smile he stood and ruffled her hair, to which she stuck out her tongue. Chuckling, he turned and started walking away.

"You're his son," she called after him.

Bruce paused mid step. "What?" he asked, not turning around.

"If I am his daughter, you are his son," she answered.

Her words were true, he knew it. That didn't mean he liked it. Bruce had agreed to start working with Tony thinking that they would be partners. But lately he was feeling like the relationship was unbalanced, like Tony's primary focus was making sure he was fed and clothed and calm. Bruce wanted to be respected for his mind rather than treated like a ticking time bomb. Tony was the first person since his accident who could see past the other guy, but lately the relationship had reached a level of affection that was beyond friendship. And with Tony slowly moving the other members of the team into Stark Tower, he was creating his own pseudo-family.

Without a word, Bruce left the room.

* * *

Perry was sitting in her work area taking Bruce's blood pressure when Tony came barging in, thrusting his custom-made tablet device in front of her. His face was contorted in an expression that was nothing short of rage.

"When exactly were you planning on telling me about this!" he shouted.

Perry glanced down at the tablet and saw the image of the alien that invaded her home swirling on the screen. Clearly he had hacked into S.H.I.E.L.D.'s records.

"Why would I tell you about that? It is classified information. Fury threatened me with federal prison."

Bruce remained silent. He tried to look as though this was news to him, but acting was never his strong suit.

Tony glared at both of them. "You told Bruce! That is hardly keeping it confidential!"

Perry rolled her eyes. "Yeah, I told Bruce. So what? Fury made sure to lock me up here, just like you would have done."

"GODDAMNIT!" shouted Tony. "This kind of reckless behavior is just what I have been talking about! You could have been killed!"

Bruce gave each of them a terrified glance, feeling horribly awkward sandwiched between the fighting Starks. Despite the talk he had with her a few days before, he was sure she would be too ticked off to be good.

Despite Bruce's speculation, Perry started laughing. Both men stared at her completely bewildered.

"HAHAHAHAHA! You sound like Molly Weasley!" she said, bending over with laughter. "Perry Stark!" she screeched like the famous howler that Ron Weasley received. "If you step one toe out of line…"

Tony scowled. "You make me feel so freaking old. Come on, Bruce, we've got some shit to stir."

Bruce nodded and removed the blood pressure cuff. Giving Perry an apologetic grimace, he followed Tony toward the door.

"Hey, I'm coming with you," called Perry as she started to shrug out of her lab coat.

"No!" said Tony, his angry glare returning. "You are grounded until next year! If you step one toe out of line…"

A glass beaker flew across the room at Tony, narrowly missing his back, shattering against the door as it closed behind him.

* * *

Tony and Nick Fury were locked in a rather intense staring contest while poor Bruce stood by. Based on what he had seen so far, Fury was winning.

Leaning over to Tony, Bruce whispered, "What am I doing here?"

"Yes, why have you two come to bother me, Dr. Banner?" asked Fury, not looking away from Tony.

"Oh you know why we are here," jibed Tony childishly.

"Yes I do. Apparently the apple doesn't fall far from the goddamn tree! So you went poking around and found something you didn't like. Didn't you learn anything the last time you tried that?"

"Last time didn't involve my niece," snarled Tony. "I have the right to know what is going on, especially when her life is threatened by someone other than herself."

"Your niece handled the situation just fine without your help. Last time I checked, she is a grown woman."

A pained look crossed Tony's face. "You know why I worry about her."

Fury's expression softened. "Everything was handled as best it could be in this situation. You wanted her moved to Stark Tower, and you got just that. I wanted to catch any aliens before they started demolishing entire metropolitan areas and that's what happened."

Tony sighed loudly and sat in a chair, burying his face in his hands. "Why did this happen? Why did this thing show up at her front door?"

"We are trying to figure that out, but right now nothing makes sense."

Tony rolled his eyes. "Then why haven't you told the Avengers? Thor seemed to know about the last aliens; maybe Loki is pulling his shit again."

Fury frowned and crossed his arms. "Loki is locked up in Asgardian prison. He is not getting out anytime soon. For now we have one alien who was literally wrestled down by a young woman. When we have a real threat on our hands, we will let you know. Until then, enjoy your free time. I understand you and Dr. Banner are making some progress on your energy project."

Tony scowled. "Don't pretend to know what we are working on so we will spill all of our secrets." Turning, he beckoned for Bruce to follow. "Come on, Big guy, we have work to do."

* * *

The car ride home was silent and horribly uncomfortable. Tony was driving at break-neck speeds, weaving in and out of traffic. He jaw was clenched and his knuckles were white as he gripped the steering wheel. Bruce was holding onto his seat belt for dear life, keeping his eyes closed so he could remain calm.

"You are not helping my heart rate any," He said quietly, breathing slowly to calm down.

"Your heart rate doesn't cause you to blow up," scoffed Tony, but he slowed down to a reasonable speed anyway.

Bruce glanced over at his friend. Tony's previous rage seemed to be diminishing and was replaced by an almost pained expression.

"Do you want to talk about it?" asked Bruce. Tony was always trying to get Bruce to play therapist, but the doctor was usually not interested in joining in.

"I wish I could, but Perry would kill me. She is just so damn frustrating!" Tony's voice was raw, nothing like his usual collected tone.

"Just imagine, Bruce," He continued," Imagine that you have given your heart, your whole heart to your last remaining relative, and then you have to watch as that relative does everything she can to get killed. It isn't even a matter of clumsiness or dangerous work anymore. She is just downright reckless. You haven't seen the crazy messes she has gotten herself into the last few years. It is like she is trying to test just how far her life can go."

Bruce pondered what Tony said for a moment. In some ways it wasn't so hard to imagine what he was saying. But this was Tony Stark, and although Bruce was privy to the gentler side of the man, he could never fully understand Tony's true emotional depth. "But don't you think you are being a little over protective? You heard Fury in there; he said that she handled the creature just fine."

Tony's expression darkened and he clenched his jaw once more. "If Perry dies, I have nothing left," was all he said. Bruce understood that completely. It was a reminder that he had no family left, no one to protect and save. But Bruce had survived despite that.

"You have Pepper," he replied defiantly. "You won't lose everything. You will be sad, but you will move on. Remember, I lost everything and yet here I am."

Tony shot him a glare and then looked away. "You gave up everything," he muttered under his breath.

"What was that?" asked Bruce.

Tony rolled his eyes. "You are right, Big Guy, I am getting worked up over nothing."

**Fun times resume in the next chapter, I promise :)**


	3. Chapter 3

Surprisingly, two weeks went by without a hitch. Perry stayed true to her word and did not cause any trouble, while Tony was back to his chipper self, tormenting Bruce relentlessly about his 'little problem.' It was bad enough when Tony spent his days trying everything within his power to set Bruce off, but now he was offering unsolicited suggestions and advice for anger management.

"Hear me out," said Tony one afternoon as he tinkered with the data that Bruce had just entered. "I have always had good luck with a little 'afternoon delight' when I am in a bad mood. Seriously, I just call Pepper up, and boom, bad mood is gone."

Bruce rolled his eyes. This was not the first time that Tony had suggested sex, but it was the first time he had suggested it in direct relation to Bruce's mood. It was one of those rare days that the doctor did not have a good handle on his irritability. Of course it wasn't the-Other-Guy-is –going-to-make-an-appearance kind of irritability, but just general woke up on the wrong side of the bed grouchy. Gravity was working extra hard on Bruce that day and he had already dropped two cups of coffee, his phone (which broke), and had tripped over his own damn feet. Needless to say, he was not in the mood to talk to anyone, especially about sex.

"Well I am glad sex works so well for you, Tony," answered Bruce as he tapped furiously at the screen in front of him." You seem to be forgetting that I have this little issue with blowing up when my heart rate increases, and since sex wouldn't be sex without an elevated heart rate, I am a little screwed…and that was not a pun." Bitterness edged Bruce's voice. Leave it to Tony to remind him how much he was missing out on life. He tried getting intimate with Betty once after the accident, but that did not work out at all. Luckily he had stopped before 'Hulking out'.

Tony walked over to Bruce and flicked him on the forehead. "How many times do I have to tell you, it isn't your heart rate that sets you off."

Bruce rubbed the red mark on his head. "Don't do that!" he snapped. Tony snickered and wandered back over to his computer. "And quit telling me that it isn't my heart rate that sets me off."

Bruce was so tired of this argument. After the situation in Manhattan, where Bruce transformed on command and wiped out some massive Chitari whales before saving Iron Man, Tony was convinced that he had a better understanding of Bruce's condition than the doctor himself did. He had decided that it was a matter of mind over body, instead of body over mind. In some ways Bruce could see why he would think that. Over the past couple of years, Bruce had much better control over the Other Guy, suppressing him, only letting him out when he needed to. And since moving in with Tony, he had discovered that caffeine and alcohol did not have the adverse effect that he expected them to. But there were still moments when he couldn't hold back, like on the Helicarrier when he damn near killed Agent Romanoff. He tried to keep the Other Guy back, but the pain and fear overtook him.

"He's right you know," said Perry from the other side of the room, startling Bruce from his thoughts. She had been so quiet that he forgot that she was even in the room.

"Who is right?" asked Tony sweetly.

Perry scowled. "You are," she ground out. Turning to Bruce, her expression softened. "Seriously, Bruce, I don't think it is a matter of you heart rate increasing that causes you to change, but rather your heart rate increasing because you change. Does that make sense?"

"No, not really," he said, giving her the same irritated look that he had been giving Tony. They were clearly conspiring against him. "And I suppose you think I need to get laid too."

Perry's mouth dropped open and she stared at him wide-eyed. Immediately her face flushed red with embarrassment. Tony and Bruce both gaped at her surprised, mortified expression. They had never seen her with such a look, having lost her normal cool and confident demeanor.

"I-I-I just mean that you could if you wanted," she stuttered, not quite meeting Bruce's eye.

Bruce grunted, unsure of how to respond. Desperately hoping this conversation was over, he turned back to the problem he was working on. Unfortunately, Tony was not ready to let it go.

"You know, you could totally use 'I've got an enormous, green rage monster in my pants' as a pick up line."

Bruce closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose, willing Tony to choke on his poor excuses for jokes.

"You have already got one girl who can't wait to get her hands on your monster," he continued, pointing over his shoulder at Perry. This time it was Bruce who blushed as a horrifyingly graphic image of Perry and the Other Guy popped into his head.

Luckily his embarrassment was short lived as Perry's shoe collided with the side of Tony's head.

* * *

Bruce was alone in the lab for the second time in the first month that Perry was there, and he was horribly lonely. He had plenty of work to do, but he couldn't seem to concentrate on any of it. He missed her. He missed her chatter, he missed her questions, he missed the way she blasted classic rock from her ipod and danced around the lab. Now it was just dead and boring, nothing but the gentle whirr of computers and the squeaking of mice to keep him awake.

He was idly scrolling through a mildly interesting article about atmospheric disturbances in Florida when Tony shuffled in. Tony Stark never arrived in his lab with nothing short of exuberance. In fact, Bruce usually found his enthusiasm to be unnerving and threatened on many occasions to lock the man out of his own lab. But this time Tony was quiet and drawn, walking in and sitting down heavily in front of his computer.

"Perry will not be in today," he said to Bruce without looking up from his screen. "She has a headache."

Bruce furrowed his brow. It seemed like she had these headaches with some frequency. She must be a migraine sufferer if they were keeping her out of the lab. Pulling up the calendar on his computer, he marked the two dates that she had missed so far. It was probably no big deal, but Bruce was in the habit of recording any recurring activity.

* * *

Perry looked down at her pitiful dinner on the table: ramen noodles. It wasn't like there was no other food available, she just didn't want to cook a big dinner to eat alone. Pepper and Tony were having "date night", Thor and Jane were out of town for some strong man contest that he had entered, and Darcy had coerced Steve into getting pizza and going to a movie. So that left Bruce, who always preferred eating alone. Glancing once more around her lonely apartment, Perry though _Not tonight, Buddy_.

Whipping up another pack of ramen, she loaded the bowls on a tray, tucked a bottle of wine under her arm, and headed down the hall to Bruce's apartments. Standing in front of the door, she hesitated slightly. He might be in the lab still. It wasn't uncommon for him to work long into the night.

Raising her foot to kick the door, she hesitated again. What if he didn't want to eat with her? Despite her attempts to be friendly, Bruce had remained politely distant.

Pushing the thoughts from her head, she kicked the door loudly. A few moments later, the door opened revealing a tired and disheveled Dr. Banner. His brown hair was mussed up on one side and his glasses sat crookedly on his face. His clothes were wrinkled as though he had been sitting for a long time.

"Did I wake you, Bruce?" Perry asked, laughing lightly as the doctor adjusted his glasses and smoothed his hair.

"Sorry," he said with an apologetic smile. "I was reading over some notes and must have dozed off." Glancing down at the tray in her hand, he raised an eyebrow and said," Come in."

Bruce's apartment was very similar to Perry's except it was a little more homey, more lived in. Still carrying the tray, Perry wandered the living room, admiring the décor that was decidedly Bruce's. Books were stacked everywhere, lining the shelves and littering the coffee table. Trinkets from India were scattered about the room and a worn Spiderman poster was stuck to the wall, no doubt a relic from Bruce's childhood.

"So what brings you down the hall?" he asked politely. Perry could tell that Bruce was a little uncomfortable with her unannounced visit. His polite smile had a forced quality to it and the way he clasped his hands in front of him reminded her of all the times Tony brought the whole room's attention to the doctor. Not allowing herself to be thwarted by his discomfort, she sauntered past him and set the tray on the kitchenette table.

"I'm lonely and you forget to eat, so we are having dinner," Perry said smiling widely. Bruce chuckled as he inspected the bowls. "Due to the unplanned nature of tonight's dinner, we will not be experiencing any of Perry's culinary expertise. But ramen should be sufficient, and paired with this $4.99 wine, it will be downright decadent."

Bruce shook his head and laughed, "I haven't had fine dining like this since college." Stepping behind her, he pulled two wine glasses out of the cabinet. The pair sat down and began digging into their noodles, which were getting a little soggy.

"So why did Tony introduce you as his hillbilly niece?" Bruce asked after a few mouthfuls. Clearly this question had been bothering him for some time.

Perry rolled her eyes and laughed. "Who knows with him. I suppose it started out because I am from Missouri, but the term stuck after I started working in Florida."

"How did a Stark end up in Missouri?"

"Well, Howard Stark had a brief affair before he got married to Tony's mom. He had a son named Elias Stark with a poor girl from the boot heel. Basically kept her on payroll, but had no interaction with his son. So that is how my father, a Stark, ended up down there." Perry's answer was nonchalant, making Bruce suspect that she had told this same story many times over. As the niece of an unmarried only-child, there were probably many probing reporters looking for gossip.

Bruce took a slow sip of wine. "If he had no interaction with his son, how did you and Tony get so close?"

"Well, when my father died, I was in college. Tony was considered my next of kin, so he found me. I wasn't very happy about it at first, but he really saved my life," she said quietly. She had taken on a sort of wistful look, and Bruce wonder how exactly Tony saved her.

"What happened to your father?" asked Bruce. When he saw the brief blazing look in her eyes, he quickly added, "You don't have to tell me. I shouldn't be so nosy."

Perry noticed the doctor's quick recovery and how embarrassed he looked when he realized he had been prying. She gave him a soft smile. "I don't mind telling you Bruce, but it is not a happy story. My father was a scientist too. Despite his upbringing, he managed to get into a great college and became as credentialed as any other Stark, although he had different interests. My father's trade was biotechnology and he worked his way up from chief researcher to senior vice president at Monsanto."

Bruce frowned, "Monsanto is that huge seed company, right?"

"The largest seed company in the world. Anyway, he was the top researcher and developer in the company. He lived life large and quickly took on all of the Stark family traits: wealth, narcissism, playboy lifestyle. Following in his own father's footsteps, he had a brief fling with woman from Montana. That's how I came about. But unlike his father, my dad paid her a lot of money to give up full custody to him."

"So you never knew your mother?" Bruce questioned, a mixed look of horror and pity on his face. His own father may have been an abusive asshole, but at least he had his mother there to love him.

Perry sighed and bit her lip. "No, I haven't met my mother. I tried to find her a few years ago, but she died of breast cancer when I was 8.

"Anyway, I was raised by my dad in Missouri. We lived in St. Louis most of the time, since that is where Monsanto HQ is, but we also had 600 acres in Nowhereville southern Missouri. Being a big guy in the company also meant that my father was not very popular. He did a lot of crooked business deals on the side and made a lot of enemies. I suspect he also was doing some work for some government agency too, but I never tried to find out. When I was away at my first year of college, my father had some of his crooked business partners on the farm with him. He was found in a field, three days later, shot execution style. There were no witnesses, no suspects, and no one was that interested in finding the culprit."

Perry hadn't noticed that she was getting increasingly upset with this conversation until Bruce reached out and covered her hand with his. Meeting his eye, she drew a shuddering breath and bit her lip to hold in the sob that threatened to escape. _What the hell_, she thought,_ I haven't cried over this in years_.

Clearing her throat loudly, she decided to continue on with the story. "I wasn't as sad as I should have been when he died. I was never close to my father and I thought his business practices were disgusting. It wasn't until after he died that I found out about the good work he did. In some ways I was more pissed than anything because it completely ruined my goals for rebellion."

Bruce smirked. "'Ah, yes, you would have some sort of rebellion."

Perry laughed, "It is a Stark family trait. I originally had this big plan of revealing to the world just how evil GMO products are. I studied biology, biotechnology, and genetics so I could explore the negative effects genetic engineering and pesticides had and bring down Monsanto. Unfortunately, that inspiration lost its buzz for me. When I found out that my father had spent his last few years advocating pulling certain chemical pesticides off the market, and was developing a new insect resistant wheat that could be grown in low-moisture areas, I didn't have the heart to completely discredit everything he did."

"So what inspired you to move into studying the effects of radiation exposure?" Bruce asked. He hated to admit it, but it really intrigued him that someone else was interested in gamma radiation and what it could do to the body.

Perry blushed and stalled by taking a big swig of wine. Bruce leaned forward, a small smile settling on his lips.

"Um, well…there was this lecture at UCLA. A really kind and intelligent doctor did this amazing presentation about gamma radiation and the advancements he and his team had been making on using it to improve immunity and rehabilitation at a cellular level. At the Q&A, I asked him what negative side effects they had found from working so closely with the radiation. He was incredibly honest with me and explained that data concerning his research team was limited."

Bruce stared at her with wide eyes. "You went to my lecture?" Perry nodded, still too embarrassed to meet his eye.

'I remember you, well at least the question," he said, running his hand through his hair. "It haunted me for some time and I pushed for more extensive tests on how the gamma radiation exposure affected those handling it. I mean we all know what it can do, but we weren't sure if we were taking all of the right precautions. After that project ended, I started working for the General and …well, you know the rest."

It was Perry's turn to comfort the doctor. "Bruce, you couldn't have known what would happen, even if you did all of those tests. Don't ever second guess yourself. I have read all of your papers, they are brilliant."

Bruce sighed and drained the rest of his wine. "Your flattery is much more effective than Tony's."

* * *

Dinner at Bruce's became a regular ritual for the two, although Perry actually cooked proper dinners for them rather than packs of ramen. Some nights they ate, drank, and talked until neither could keep their eyes open. They talked about anything from various research and theories, to hobbies (both of them enjoyed fishing), to foreign films (Bruce had developed a love for Bollywood movies while in India). On other nights, Bruce would read quietly, usually looking over his notes, while Perry watched baseball. Being from Missouri, she was a die-hard Cardinals fan. In some ways, Bruce loved these nights because Perry was too enthralled with the game to notice that he was actually watching her over the page he was supposed to be reading.

He was slow to admit it, but he was intrigued by Perry. He recognized right away that she was beautiful, no point in denying that, and her body was definitely worth looking at. But that wasn't what drew him in. It was the fact that she was not afraid of him. Most of the Avengers were not afraid of him, but they were hesitant. Well, except for Tony, which is probably why Bruce was so quick to warm up to him. But Perry was the same way. She looked him in the eye, stayed close to him, touched him occasionally. When the Other Guy came up in conversation, she was able to talk easily about him without asking too many questions. Most of all, she wasn't afraid of provoking him. She trusted him, which probably made her as crazy as her uncle, but it made him trust her in return.

It was one of those baseball nights when Perry and Bruce had the most uncomfortable conversation about the Other Guy that he had ever had.

They had chicken stir fry for dinner, complements of Perry's kitchen, and Bruce settled in to read over some of Perry's research from Chernobyl while she watched the game. Very little reading was done that night as it was an exciting game and Perry had a hard time sitting down. Bruce chuckled softly and shook his head every time she jumped up and shouted "Walk him!" or "Come on! The bases are loaded!"

When the game was finally over, Perry flopped herself onto the couch and lolled her head back, giving Bruce a sleepy grin. "That was a good game. We are in the running for the World Series for sure. And then I am going to have Matt Holliday's baseball babies."

Bruce gave her a bewildered look. "Baseball babies? What in the world does that mean?"

Perry snickered. "It means I appreciate his talent and would like to pass those genes on to my children. Kind of like how I am going to have Mick Jagger's music babies and your science babies."

Bruce's face immediately flushed red. "I am sure there are much better choices for science babies."

Perry shook her head fiercely and leaned closer to him. "Are you kidding? You are brilliant, which is freaking hot. And you are pretty damn sexy too, which makes it even better." She knew she was being unnecessarily bold, but he needed to know. She didn't like it that he hid behind the Hulk, always using his transformations as an excuse to not get close to anyone.

Bruce's face switched to the stony expression he had when conversations reached an uncomfortable point. "I couldn't have children with anyone, no matter the reasons behind it," he said quietly.

Perry gasped. "You mean the radiation damaged…"

"No!" said Bruce loudly. Embarrassed, he flushed red again and continued in his quiet, even voice. "Sorry. Everything works fine, I think, but it would be unethical to have children." He looked miserable, and Perry's heart went out to him

"Do you think your condition could be passed on?" she asked quietly.

Bruce sighed. "I don't know. I never tried to find out. Even if I couldn't pass on the condition, what kind of father would I be?

"A great one," Perry said firmly. "Bruce, you would make a wonderful father."

Bruce snorted. "I could lose control anytime. If I killed my children-" his voice broke "- I could never forgive myself. I can't risk it."

Grabbing Bruce's hands, Perry crouched in front of him. "Look at me Bruce. You have more control of yourself than you think. You haven't had any incidents in a few years; I believe this track record will continue."

"Last year, New York…. " he mumbled.

"That was planned and justified. And he did more good than harm. And before you bring up losing it on the helicarrier, you were attacked. Nobody can blame you for that."

Bruce remained silent, closing his eyes as though he thought that if he didn't say anything this conversation would end. Perry would get the hint and never bring it up again.

But being a Stark made it impossible for Perry to let it go. "Let me find out," she said quietly, squeezing his hands.

Bruce's eyes flew open. "What?"

"Let me test your sperm. I can see if you pass on the mutation or not." There was no hint of embarrassment in her voice.

Bruce shook his head bitterly. "Maybe I don't want to know. Why find out that my kids would be normal even if I can't have them?"

"Then let me test it to satisfy my own curiosity. If you don't want to know, I won't tell you. But since you are the only surviving person to be exposed to that much gamma radiation, I wouldn't mind having that data."

Bruce pinched the bridge of his nose. As much as he wanted to refuse, the scientist in him couldn't deny her that bit of data. "Fine," was all he said.

Perry threw her arms around him, pressing against him in a tight hug. Bruce awkwardly put his arms around her, settling his hands on the small of her back. "Thank you, Bruce. You are more wonderful than words."


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Ok guys, this is my first M rated chapter. Enjoy and please review :)**

* * *

Bruce was already in the lab the next morning when Perry sauntered in, a plastic cup in hand. She walked over to where he was bent over his microscope and plunked the cup down on the table. Bruce eyed it warily.

"For your sample," she said brightly.

Bruce's cheeks quickly flushed. "Um…do you need it now?"

"No, it's too early for that," winked Perry. Actually, it is never too early he thought.

"You can get it to me sometime today."

A few hours later, Bruce decided that the cup had tormented him enough. Picking it up off the table, he stalked silently out of the room, ignoring Perry who was watching him out of the corner of her eye. In his room he double and triple checked the lock on his door. It was definitely not a good time for Tony to walk in.

Rolling up his sleeves, he sat awkwardly on the edge of his bed. How did one just go about this? He had pleasured himself before, but the Other Guy turned him to a life of celibacy which included self-loving. Perry and Tony seemed to think that his heart rate didn't turn him into a monster, but he couldn't see past the undeniable evidence in front of him: his heart rate was elevated every single time he transformed. Perhaps he could take it slow and put the brakes on if things started getting to that breaking point.

"Um…JARVIS?" he asked hesitantly. "I have to come up with this sperm sample. Do you have any, um, videos to help me along?" His face was burning. The word 'porn' stuck in his throat and he prayed JARVIS understood.

"Of course, Dr. Banner," said JARVIS' smooth, non-judgmental voice.

The screen was soon filled with videos of nude, writhing women. Bruce scrolled through the options, flinching at some of the horrifying ones. Nothing was attractive; nothing was making the little guy cooperate. Settling on a relatively mild video of a dark haired girl with pretty brown eyes, Bruce tried to enjoy it. When the girl's fake, whiny voice got on his nerves, he muted the sound, but it made no difference.

Frustrated, Bruce turned off the video and flung himself back on his bed. Rubbing his face wearily, he groaned as he thought about the still empty cup sitting beside him. What had possessed him to agree to this? His mind immediately flashed to the memory of Perry, kneeling in front of him, her wide brown eyes begging him.

The little guy twitched.

Pushing experimentally through his thoughts, Bruce conjured up the first time he saw Perry, standing in front of him with her breasts straining against her Cardinals shirt and her bare legs exposed beneath the hem of her short shorts.

Twitch,twitch.

Slowly he sat up. "JARVIS," he said quietly. "Can you show me Perry?"

"Yes, Dr. Banner." Moments later, video surveillance of Perry working in the lab popped up on screen. Apparently she had removed her lab coat after he left, revealing her favorite outfit of shorts and a tank top.

Bruce gasped as he felt himself stiffen immediately. With trembling fingers, he worked open his fly, revealing his rock hard member. With his eyes glued to the screen, Bruce watched her every move as he slowly stroked.

Perry stood from her seat and stretched her arms high above her head. She was facing the camera, so Bruce could see just how her breasts pushed against the tight fabric of her shirt as her back arched. Letting out a small moan, he stroked faster.

Up, down, up, down….

Perry reached over to her ipod dock and turned up some music. Whatever she was listening to must have had a good beat because she began dancing around the lab, swaying her hips in time to the music.

His hand moved faster, sending waves of pleasure down to his toes.

Bending over to look at some data on a computer screen, Perry still danced, her rear end directly facing the camera, moving tantalizingly in the air.

Bruce's hand moved like a piston and deep, throaty moans were pouring out of his mouth. He could feel the pressure building up to the point of being unbearable.

Grabbing the cup, he put it in to position. Suddenly, Bruce roared with his orgasm, just as Perry looked directly at the camera.

Trembling, Bruce capped the cup and collapsed on the bed. What the hell just happened? Did he seriously just jerk off while watching Perry Stark in the lab? Throwing a shameful arm over his eyes, he asked JARVIS to turn off the video. At least the Other Guy didn't make an appearance.

* * *

A few hours later, Perry and Bruce were working quietly in the lab. Bruce was typing in row after row of numbers into his computer, while Perry was analyzing his sperm sample. She had just pulled the cup out again to extract a portion for the next round of tests when Tony made his usual noisy entrance into the lab. Perry rolled her eyes, glancing over to see Bruce pinching the bridge of his nose. Both of them had been enjoying the quiet atmosphere without Tony.

"Sooooo, what ch'ya working on?" He asked, throwing an arm over Perry's shoulder. Squinting, he picked up one of the test tubes she had just prepared.

"Put that down!" She snapped. "I will not tell you again, Tony: do NOT touch my equipment."

Tony snorted. "Hello, my lab, my equipment…"

"Your demise," she muttered.

Across the room, Bruce choked back a laugh.

"Don't get any ideas, Big Guy," said Tony, stepping around Perry and picking up the cup holding Bruce's sperm sample.

Perry bit her lip, hoping he would set it back down and move on. "Do you have a reason to be here or are you just trying to piss me off. Just a hint, that isn't going to work."

"I am pretty sure being in my own lab is reason enough to be here," said Tony, holding the cup up to the light. "What is this?"

Hazarding a glance at Bruce, she saw that his face was hidden behind a file. "None of your business," she snapped.

Tony wiggled the cup around, trying to get the substance to move. "Hmmm, what an interesting consistency. It reminds me of – "

Suddenly he dropped the cup onto the table as the realization hit him. "Whose is that and _why_?" he shrieked.

Perry didn't know if she should hide her face from embarrassment or laugh at his childish behavior. Glancing again at Bruce, she saw that his own face was now very red and very preoccupied with the pencil in his hand.

Unfortunately, this glance at Bruce did not go unnoticed by Tony. His face lit up with glee as he connected the two scientists' mortified expressions.

"Oh now this is good," He said, leaning forward to put his elbows on the table and to set his chin in his hands. "So whose idea was this and what are we hoping to achieve? Do we need other volunteers for this experiment because I volunteer."

Perry looked at him with a horrified expression. "You are a whole new level of disgusting, Tony Stark."

"Thank you," he smirked. "Now spill, I am dying to hear this."

Perry and Bruce remained silent.

"I've got all day," said Tony. "No one leaves this lab until you tell me."

Perry rolled her eyes. "If I tell you, do you promise to leave the lab right away?"

"Absolutely."

Sighing, Perry gave Bruce a questioning glance, which he returned with a consenting nod. "I am testing Bruce's sperm to see if the mutation can be passed on."

Tony took on a brief, serious expression. "That should yield some interesting results." Turning on Bruce, he walked over to where the doctor stood and clapped him on the shoulder. "But I am more curious about this man's sex drive."

Bruce rolled his eyes, but appeared to be otherwise calm. Only Perry noticed that his ears were still tinged in embarrassment

"So what is it that turns on a quiet doctor and occasional rage monster? Blonds? Asian girls? I bet the big fella likes some kinky shit – ow, ow, OW!"

With his back turned to Perry, he didn't see her come up behind him and grab his arm. Twisting it behind his back, she hissed in his ear, "I thought you were leaving."

"Ok, ok," he panted. "Unhand me woman! I am leaving."

Perry reluctantly released him. She was kind of hoping she would get to wrestle him out of the lab and pitch him unceremoniously into the hallway. Giving Bruce a we-will-talk-later wink, Tony swung out of the lab and headed up to his penthouse.

"I'm going to smother him in his sleep," muttered Perry angrily as she went back to her work area.

"I figured out which wires to cut in his arc reactor the first day I was here," said Bruce, cracking a small smile when Perry grinned up at him.

* * *

Upstairs, Tony was on a mission. If Bruce had managed to produce a sample, he must have had some 'inspiration'. To get said inspiration, he would have had to access JARVIS' systems. If he accessed JARVIS' systems, then Tony would be able to see just what it took to turn the good doctor on. That sort of blackmail information was too good to pass up.

"JARVIS," said Tony after he had poured himself a drink and settled on the couch. "Did Dr. Banner ask to see any videos today?"

"Yes," answered JARVIS politely.

"Show me those videos," Tony said, a smirk creeping up on his face.

"That would be an invasion of privacy, Sir."

"Just do it, JARVIS."

Complying with his order, JARVIS flashed the videos that he had shown Bruce up on the screen. For a few minutes, the video of the brown headed girl came up.

"Hmmm, well this is…boring," said Tony, frowning at the basic video. He definitely expected Bruce to prefer some of the wilder videos, like those involving two or three redheads and some interesting toys.

The video switched off and was quickly replaced with the surveillance video from earlier. Sitting up suddenly, Tony's eyes widened when he realized that the girl in the video was Perry. He watched as she stretched and danced around the room. When the video finished with Perry looking at the camera, Tony shook his head in shock.

"JARVIS, did Dr. Banner watch any other videos after this one of Perry?"

"No, sir."

Tony took a big swig of his drink and sat back to process this new information. So Bruce Banner was getting off on videos of Perry, of Tony's very own niece. He was supposed to be angry about this, right? Isn't that what uncle's do? Get all over-protective over their nieces, especially when it is their best friend who is jerking off to surveillance videos of her?

But Tony was the opposite of angry. He was happy, very happy. In fact he could laugh with relief. And that is just what he did.

He was still laughing when Pepper came in.

"What is so funny, Tony Stark?" She asked, standing over him as he rolled on the couch.

Jumping up, he kissed her soundly. "Pepper, the kids will be fine."

"What the hell does that mean?"

"Bruce and Perry! They don't need us to save them! They are going to save each other!" With that, Tony fell back onto the couch in laughter again.

Pepper, rolled her eyes. "I am going to pretend I know what you are talking about and I am going to take a long shower. When I get back, I expect you to have composed yourself so we can finish the evening like normal people."

Tony stopped laughing and watched her walk into the master bedroom, depositing clothes on the floor as she moved. "Need any help in there?" he called after her. Getting no answer, he decided to follow just in case.

* * *

Once again, Bruce found himself in the presence of Nick Fury as the director stared down an angry Tony Stark. This time, however, Perry was seated between the doctor and Tony, and Fury brought Agent Romanoff as back up. The air was tense and Bruce was resisting the temptation to shake Tony so the contest would end and they could move on with conversation.

Apparently Perry was thinking along the same lines because after a few moments she piped up, "Ok girls, I think we all know that Tony has the best hair, but Nick has the best tits."

Fury continued his one-eyed stare, but Tony snorted," Uh no, I totally have the better rack."

Perry rolled her eyes. Looking over Fury's shoulder, she spotted Agent Romanoff. "Hey, you are Natasha Romanoff, right?"

The agent nodded, unsure of where this was going.

"Holy crap it is so good to meet you," gushed Perry, jumping up to shake the woman's hand. "I am your biggest fan. Is it true that you can kill a man with your thighs?"

A bemused look crossed Natasha's face. "Yes I can kill a man with my thighs. I have done it on several occasions."

"You must teach me your ways," said Perry, looking at Natasha as though she was her new hero.

Bruce pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed. The image of Perry strangling a man with her thighs was threatening to take up residence in his mind, which he enjoyed more than he cared to admit.

Fury was apparently annoyed by this too. "Sit down, Miss Stark," he snapped, fixing his dangerous eye on the girl. "Now I don't know what this is all about, but I am getting tired of you all thinking you can storm your way up here every time you decide to play in information you shouldn't be getting into. "

Tony rolled his eyes. "I am pretty sure information involving me is something I should be getting into," he snarled.

Bruce cast him a concerned look. Tony's lapses in temper were happening more and more often. He wasn't sure that losing it on Director Fury was a good idea for anyone in the room, especially when the director had an assassin like Romanoff backing him up.

"What is going on," asked Perry, her face worried as she looked back and forth between Fury and Tony. Clearly she was as confused as Bruce about Tony's sudden decision to visit Nick Fury.

"Apparently Nick Fury was under the impression that his agents were so good at covering up alien attacks that I wouldn't notice when one broke in to my own goddamned home!" shouted Tony.

"What?!" gasped Perry and Bruce simultaneously.

"One of your little alien friends decided to show up at my house in Malibu and S.H.I.E.L.D. thought they would deal with it and not bother telling me."

"My agents handled it just fine," said Fury evenly with just an undertone of danger. "We were unable to capture the creature in time, but we secured the area."

Tony snorted. "It was the security that I designed myself that alerted you in the first place."

Perry wrinkled her brow in confusion. "Why would they come back? And why would they target Tony's place?" It was bad enough that the thing had showed up at her front door, but now they were showing up in other places, targeting her last relative. This couldn't be a coincidence. Where would be next? Stark Tower? Would they start going after her friends?

Fury sighed, and sat down across from Perry. "We are trying to get answers, I promise you. We are exhausting every outlet as we speak."

"Why not exhaust a few of my outlets?" asked Tony. "I have a rather impressive astrophysicist working in Stark Tower as we speak."

Fury gave an irritated sigh, clenching his hands on the table in front of him. "We have been over this before, Tony. I can't just go around picking up scientists because you like them. S.H.I.E.L.D. has the best of the best and they are doing their best to get answers." Slowly, the director stood to his full height, fixing his eye on each of them with a withering glare that would have weaker men needing a change of pants. " Now, I want you three out of my sight and if you bother me about this again, Mr. Stark, I will personally make sure my boot is so far up your ass that you chew leather for the next year. Do I make myself clear?"

"Crystal," snarled Tony, also standing and giving Fury his nastiest look. Without another word, he swung out of the room, leaving Perry and Bruce to catch up.

* * *

Lucky for Bruce, it was Perry who drove them home as Tony was having a full out hissy fit, which was only made worse by her sarcasm and biting comments.

"This is exactly why I told you to stay out of it!" Shouted Perry as she swung the car around one that seemed to be going the speed limit. Maybe it wasn't a good idea to have her drive after all.

"I case you haven't noticed, S.H.I.E.L.D. isn't doing their job," snapped Tony. "Seriously, they have made no progress and there has been another creature show up, so it wasn't an isolated incident. And they seem to be targeting us, but Fury can't figure that out."

"Oh please, Tony, you don't know what they have figured out. Did it ever occur to you that their new security system only allows you to hack into the unimportant information?"

Tony turned to his niece, his expression equal parts enraged and intrigued. Clearly the thought had not occurred to him. But before he could reply, Bruce thought of something that might help the case.

"Have they looked into the atmospheric disturbances in Florida?" He asked from the back seat, successfully shutting the other two up for a moment. Slowly, Tony turned to stare at his friend while Perry gave him a questioning look in the rear view mirror.

"There was an article the other day," explained Bruce. "Apparently there were some unusual atmospheric readings over a remote area in the Everglades. Not much more information other than that, but it was the second time the disturbances were noticed."

"When was the first time?" asked Tony.

"Just before Perry arrived here."

Tony's face lit up with a gleeful smile, giving Bruce the distinct impression that Christmas had come early for him. "I could kiss you," he said.

Bruce grimaced. "I would rather you didn't."

Tony's grin turned into a wicked smirk. "No, I will just have Perry do that instead."

* * *

It was Friday night and Pepper had managed to coerce Bruce into joining her and Tony for dinner in the penthouse. Generally he avoided going to the top floor, but Pepper could usually entice him to visit for something delicious that she cooked. Where Tony was narcissistic and flamboyant, Pepper was modest and friendly. She was the only person who could keep him in line, and everyone, including Tony, was thankful for that.

Now that he was up in Tony's living quarters, Bruce was painfully reminded of his last visit with the Other Guy. Looking around the living room, he could see remnants of the damage he caused as it was still being repaired. Tony didn't seem to mind the battle scars that Stark Tower had gained, begging Pepper to let him leave the Loki sized crater in the floor. Much to Bruce's appreciation, Pepper made him get it fixed.

The trio was just settling into dinner when Perry came in. Bruce quickly spit out the bite of steak he had just taken in an effort to prevent choking. The outfit that Perry was wearing was nothing short of marvelous. She was wearing a black dress that was very short, very tight, and had a very deep neckline. On her feet was a towering set of black heels, complementing her long, toned legs that Bruce loved to see. Around her neck was a long silver chain with a large emerald that dipped perfectly into her cleavage.

"Whoo-ee," whistled Tony as he kicked Bruce under the table. Bruce, who had been staring open-mouthed, let his eyes drop and he immediately turned bright red. "Where are you going all dressed up?"

Perry slapped on her wicked grin. "Thor is driving Jane crazy while she is trying to get some work done, so Darcy and I volunteered to take him out on the town."

"That should be interesting," muttered Bruce. He had never tested the theory, but he was pretty sure it would take about 10 times the normal amount of alcohol to get Thor drunk. And since he was a god who enjoyed getting drunk, Thor would probably drink whatever bar they chose dry.

Tony on the other hand matched his grin to Perry's. "Please tell me you will be getting video of this."

"I am already prepared," said Darcy, waving her camera as she walked in with Thor. Darcy had opted for a slightly more subdued, but no less sexy, snug blue dress. She had dressed Thor in a red tee shirt and dark jeans. Of course, he wore them like a male model, his clothes pulling tightly across his muscles.

"You guys can come too," she added. "I am calling up Steve once we get there."

"Oh, now that will be good. I am pretty sure Steve will have an aneurysm if he sees you two dressed like that," said Tony.

_He's not the only one_ thought Bruce, still not looking up at the girls. The invitation was oddly tempting. Odd because Bruce was never really into going out for entertainment. Tempting because the last few weeks had awoken this sudden desire for life in the quiet doctor.

Bruce was pretty sure that bars and parties were created to ensure that all attendees make complete fools of themselves, something that he was not inclined to do. In college he had attended a few parties, but his favorite place to get a drink was a small corner pub that was quiet and relaxed. You definitely did not see girls dressed like Perry there. But considering his reservations about bypassing judgment and spending the evening making a royal ass of himself, Bruce found the offer much more tempting than usual. Living with Tony gave him a sense of normalcy, giving him the chance to consider goals and success that he abandoned with the Other Guy. But after Perry's arrival, Bruce's awareness of the possibility of life turned into a thirst for life. He suddenly desired the companionship, the popularity, and social ease that Tony had. He wanted to spend an evening out with friends, maybe even flirt with a pretty girl or two. It was a strange compulsion, especially considering that he had never felt this way, even before the Other Guy. For the first time, Bruce was finally beginning to feel alive.

Lost in his own thoughts, Bruce did not hear Tony politely decline for the three of them, telling the girls to have fun and to keep a close eye on Thor. Much to his dismay, Perry, Darcy, and Thor turned to leave, taking their invitation with them. Bruce stared wistfully after them.

"Darcy has already posted pictures of them on facebook. You can gawk at them after dinner," Tony said slyly, earning a reproachful shove from Pepper.

Bruce felt himself flush again. This whole red-face thing was getting old. "I don't think that will be necessary," he answered as smoothly as possible.

Unfortunately, Tony could read his friend like a book. "No, I suppose you won't need to refer to those pictures after the eyeful you just got," he said with the insufferable smirk he wore when he predicted Bruce's thoughts with unnerving accuracy.

Bruce opened his mouth with a nasty retort, but he was cut off by Pepper screeching," Tony Stark, you just earned yourself a night on the couch."


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Thank you soooo much for the favs and follows! I really do appreciate it and I am glad you all like my story :) I definitely could use some more feedback - seriously, I live for reviews! I am thinking about adding some Loki much later in the story, so what do you guys think? Should the God of Mischief make an appearance? **

* * *

Being escorted up to the penthouse of Stark Tower by Captain America was not how Perry wanted to end her night out on the town. Heck, dragged was more like it. No amount of pleading or arguing could convince Steve to let her slink down to her quarters where she could wait until morning to talk to Tony. Her only saving grace was Darcy trailing behind her after they deposited Thor in Jane's rooms.

"Seriously, Steve, we don't have to do this," mumbled Perry, knowing that she was wasting her breath as he had been ignoring her since they got on the elevator.

Without knocking, he led Perry through the door, pulling her by her arm to stand in front of the couch that Tony and Pepper were sitting on. Bruce was still there, sitting off to the side idly playing Temple Run on his phone. The three of them looked up, surprised to find a very irritated Steve Rogers standing before them with a strangely quiet Perry attempting to hide behind him.

"Ah, I see Darcy and Perry didn't explain twerking to you before taking you out," said Tony, his favorite wicked grin creeping up on his face.

Steve's expression was stony as he reached behind his back and hauled Perry out of hiding. Despite being pulled to stand beside Steve, she kept her face turned away from Tony, hoping he wouldn't notice anything different.

But nothing got past Tony Stark and he promptly jumped to his feet, grasping Perry's chin and turning her head so that her face, and newly formed black eye, was in full view. Perry bit her lip when she saw Tony's face drain of color. This was exactly why she didn't want to come up here.

"Pepper, go get some ice," Tony ordered evenly, "Bruce, do your doctor magic and check for a concussion. Once we have established that you are fine, you will tell me how the fuck that happened and who I have to kill."

Perry rolled her eyes, wincing in pain when she remembered too late that her eye was very swollen. "I am fine, Tony. You are overreacting, as usual."

Tony's mouth straightened into a hard line. "I am perfectly calm right now. That will change if you do not sit yourself down and let Bruce look at you." His voice was dangerous, making Perry decide that now was not a good time to argue with him.

Biting back the retort that threatened to surface, Perry allowed Bruce to lead her by the hand to the chair he had just vacated. Crouching in front of her, he gave her an apologetic smile before gently running his fingers over her head to check for any obvious injuries.

"I didn't hit my head, I got a fist to the eye," Perry mumbled. She really wanted to snap at him, but Bruce's polite manner dispelled any irritation she had.

Pulling a pen light out of his pocket, Bruce moved to inspecting her pupils, making sure that they dilated accordingly. "It is just standard procedure," he replied. Turning her head slightly, he gently pressed his fingers to her brow bone, checking to make sure nothing was broken underneath. Perry let out a pained hiss when his fingers pushed lightly against the purple circle forming around her eye. "Sorry" he said, taking the ice from Pepper and pressing it to her eye. Perry nodded, giving him a faint, thankful smile.

"She is fine," Bruce said, turning to Tony. "She just has a black eye."

Giving the doctor a jerky nod, Tony flopped down on the couch, wearily rubbing his face. "Ok, now I am going to remain calm while you tell me what happened.

Perry started to roll her eyes, thought better of it, and sighed heavily instead. "Well, it really wasn't that bad. I was just breaking up this bar fight and –"

"Oh whatever!" snapped Darcy, who was still standing behind Steve. Perry gave her a dangerous glare, but she continued setting the story straight. "We were dancing and this creeper came up and wouldn't leave Perry alone. She told him to go away, but he wouldn't listen. And then he started getting grabby which pissed her off."

"Fucking octopus," muttered Perry, not looking up at the others in the room.

Suddenly, a shattering noise sounded behind Perry followed by a startled gasp. Turning around, they found Bruce staring down at the puddle full of glass shards that had been his glass of water. "Uh, sorry," he muttered. "Strong grip."

Tony raised an eyebrow at him, but said nothing.

"Anyway, Perry pushed the guy away, but he still didn't get the hint." Continued Darcy. " Actually he kind of got worse since he was yelling at her too. So Thor decided to jump in and wrestle the guy away."

"How did she get a black eye then?" asked Tony.

"Well, Perry decided that Thor had had too much to drink and a bar fight with him could be disastrous, so she jumped in between them and proceeded to kick the guy's ass. Seriously, she has got some mad skills. And then she did that thigh thing she learned from Natasha…"

The story was interrupted once again, this time by Bruce's sudden choking cough.

"So this guy punched Perry?" asked Tony. His voice had returned to his deadly tone.

"Not exactly," answered Darcy. "At least not intentionally. That was about the time that Steve got there, and of course he couldn't let them keep fighting, so he intervened. The guy was trying to punch Steve, but his aim was terrible and Perry's face got in the way. After that, we all sobered up pretty quick. Thor head-butted the guy and knocked him out and Steve grabbed Perry and hauled her out. And I got the whole thing on camera," she added proudly.

Tony jumped up and made a grab for the camera, but Darcy kept it safely out his reach. "I need that!" He snapped. "I'm going to track that bastard down!"

Perry started to retaliate, but Bruce cut her off. "You will let it go, Tony," he said quietly. "I think the man has already paid for his crime by getting his ass handed to him by Perry and getting knocked unconscious by Thor. It sounds to me like she handled the situation admirably."

Everyone in the room stared at Bruce, completely dumbstruck. For a brief moment, he wondered if he had done the right thing speaking up for Perry, but when he felt her hand wrap around his and give a squeeze, he knew that she was appreciative.

Tony's face contorted into a variety of expressions, rotating from rage to shock to humor. Clearly he was absolutely baffled by Bruce's sudden backbone and he couldn't decide if he wanted to be angry or amused. Settling on the latter, he let out a loud laugh and clapped Bruce on the shoulder. "You are right, Big Guy," he said. "I am being overprotective."

Turning to Darcy, he added, "Now let us watch this video. I want to see my niece kicking ass and I am sure Bruce would like to see her newest thigh strangling technique."

Despite his red face as they all settled in to watch the video, Bruce couldn't help but to mentally agree with his friend.

* * *

That night in his room, Bruce was finding that the calm he maintained in the penthouse was quickly slipping away. When everyone was in the room with him, he was able to remain collected and ambivalent…for the most part. There was the slight lapse when he broke his glass of water, but considering the rage boiling inside, it was a miracle that more was not broken. The more he thought about the man punching Perry, the angrier he got.

It was true that the anger never left him and that he spent his days constantly fighting the beast that threatened to escape. Most days he was strong enough the keep the Other Guy at bay. Minor irritations were not enough to bother the Other Guy, no matter how annoyed Bruce actually was. But despite the control Bruce managed to have, once the Other Guy was pissed there was no stopping him.

Oddly enough, as he sat down and closed his eyes, breathing deeply through his nose to stop the pounding in his chest, Bruce wasn't sure if the rage was coming from him or the Other Guy. It was an unusual sensation. He didn't feel like he was going to come apart and wipe out entire neighborhoods, but he did feel a peculiar urge to smash things, particularly a certain asshole's face. For the first time since the accident, Bruce had a feeling that the Other Guy was working with him rather than against him.

* * *

Jane was enjoying momentary peace in her lab, with Thor snoring in the corner and Darcy preoccupied with teaching Steve how to use his new phone. As much as she loved having her own personal god at her beck and call, Jane was beginning to think that Thor needed to go back to Asgard for a bit. Sure she would miss him more than word could express, but he was just so damn restless. And to make matters worse, the delightfully muscular man was like a golden bull in a china cabinet when it came to her sterile lab. In some ways she hoped for something to happen, something to get the Avengers assembled and ready for battle. Something to give Thor an adventure and to get him out of her hair for a bit.

The clatter of the glass door opening, followed by an enthusiastic ,"Hello ladies, no need to put tops on for me," broke Jane's blissful concentration. Rolling her eyes, she turned to greet Tony Stark with a forced smile. If the pay wasn't so high and the facilities so phenomenal, she would definitely not be toiling her days away working for a corporation like Stark Industries. She was an academic; wealth was not her goal in life. An unlimited budget and equipment so advanced that it hadn't been released yet however was definitely a goal that she never dreamed of achieving.

"How can I help you, Tony?" She asked, glancing at Thor in the corner to make sure he was still asleep. The god let out a loud grunt, but resumed snoring right away.

"Have you heard about the atmospheric disturbances in Florida?" He asked, hand Jane his tablet, the article that Bruce had read a few days before on display. "That's up your alley, isn't it?"

Jane took the tablet from Tony and skimmed over the article. "I did see something about this the other day. There hasn't been much information on it though."

"Exactly," said Tony, giving her his most winning smile. Jane wasn't swayed. "That's what I need you to do. Find out what this disturbance is."

Jane furrowed her brow. Since when did Tony Stark care about minor disturbances? For all she knew, it could have simply been unusual currents of pressure or space debris. Why would he suddenly want her to take on a project like this?

"What do you think these disturbances are?" she asked.

"I don't know, that is why I am asking you," Tony smirked.

Jane sighed. "Ok, let's try this again. Why do you want me to look into these disturbances?"

Glancing over at Steve and Darcy, who were now listening intently to the conversation, Tony frowned. "This stays between us, understood?" The three listeners nodded. " S.H.I.E.L.D. is trying to keep things hush hush, but we have had two visits by extraterrestrials."

"I would imagine that we have had a lot more than two alien visits," said Darcy.

Tony shook his head. "These are different. The first one attacked Perry in her home in Florida. The second one made it to my house in Malibu."

"Why are aliens going after you and Perry," asked Jane. It was the craziest thing she had ever heard, yet after everything she experienced over the past couple years, nothing surprised her anymore. If Thor hadn't assured her that Loki was securely locked up in Asgard's prison, she would suspect him.

"Well, we have no idea," said Tony, his shoulders slumped. It was rare that Tony Stark didn't have all of the answers. "That's why I need your help. Bruce suggested that these disturbances could be linked to the aliens since they seem to be occurring over the Everglades, where Perry was working. I need you to identify the exact location and what the hell is actually happening. Do you think you can do that?" His brown eyes were pleading and Jane could feel her resolve weakening. Damn her soft heart.

"Of course I can do that," she said quietly. "I need to get whatever data has already been collected. Do you even know which organization is investigating this?"

"Not yet, but I will figure it out and get you what you need," said Tony, his charming smile returning. "Remember, none of this is to be discussed outside this lab."

Before leaving the lab, Tony pranced over to Thor and pecked him quickly on the lips. The blond god continued snoring, oblivious to his team mate's sudden affection and gasps of the others in the room.

"Huh," said Tony with a nonchalant shrug. "I guess I am not Prince Charming after all."

* * *

Bruce frowned as he pulled up the calendar on his computer. It was Tuesday morning, and was apparently another headache day for Perry. In fact, it was the fifth headache since she arrived. Looking over the previously marked dates, a pattern presented itself clear as day. There were exactly 12 days between each headache. With that kind of predictability, Bruce was sure that Perry knew when to expect them. But she never warned him, she just didn't come down to the lab that day and she skipped dinner too. The only exception was the first day she had a headache and he had to go talk her out of joyriding Tony's souped up motorcycle. Bruce also had a strong suspicion that the source of these headaches was related to Tony's odd mood swings and Perry's cryptic behavior. He hated not knowing the inside joke.

* * *

On Wednesday, Tony had a revelation, a major revelation, about his energy project. It was one of those moments of brilliance that struck like lightening and energized the playboy billionaire into demolishing his lab in the name of science. Needless to say, Perry had been booted from the lab while Tony worked, whereas Bruce was trapped in the middle of the chaos. She laughed at Bruce's face pressed up against the glass wall of the lab as she left, glaring at her with envy, while Tony shouted for him to hold the device that the he was preparing to swing a sledgehammer at.

With a day a freedom, Perry knew right away that she wanted to spend it hanging out with Darcy. Working with two men that were a decade older than her took its toll, making Perry long for girl chat more than she cared to admit. Without hesitation, Perry hopped on the elevator and headed two floors down to sneak her friend out of the astrophysics lab.

Darcy's escape was much easier than expected. Apparently Jane was fed up with babysitting Thor and Darcy, who had spent the morning flicking rubber bands across the room. She was more than happy to share her assistant with Perry, leaving Thor to help sift through thousands of photos of stars, looking for one with any sort of anomaly. Together, Perry and Darcy headed out of the tower and over a few blocks to their favorite burger joint to pick up lunch. Half an hour later the girls were back in Stark Tower, takeout bags bulging with burgers and fries, making their way to see Steve in the garage.

The captain was pleasantly surprised by their visit and was more than happy to stop working on his car for a bit to eat a burger or four. The girls sat down on the front seat that was not yet installed, and Steve pulled up a stool in front of them.

"So you are from Missouri, right?" asked Darcy, finally breaking the silence.

Perry nodded. "Yep, born and raised. Not much happens there, so I wouldn't recommend it as a vacation spot."

"Actually, I have been there," said Darcy. "And you are right, not much happens there. It's more interesting than New Mexico though, which is where I am from."

Perry chuckled. "Yeah, I suppose you are right. So what brought you to Ol' Missour-ah?" Steve raised an eyebrow at Perry's sudden twang, but said nothing.

"My brother was stationed at Fort Leonard Wood," She explained.

"Your brother is in the Army?" asked Steve, now interested in the conversation.

Darcy nodded. "Both of my brothers are. Dan is a Lt. Colonel and is stationed at Fort Hood. Jake is a Captain and was in Missouri, but he was deployed a few months ago. Now he is hunting for IEDs in Afghanistan." Her voice was tinged with sadness.

"How long will he be deployed?" Perry asked gently.

Darcy frowned. "Eighteen months this time. He has already done one tour in Afghanistan and two in Iraq. Same with Dan, but he is high enough rank now to have a shorter deployment."

"Your brothers are brave men," said Steve, giving Darcy a reassuring smile.

Darcy nodded. "Thank you, they are brave. I wish I could say the same about myself." Her voice was beginning to waver, and Perry gave her friend an uncomfortable glance. She never was good at saying the right things in these situations.

Kneeling in front of her, Steve grasped Darcy's hand in his and lifted her chin so she was looking him in the eyes. "You are far braver than you know. In fact, the bravest people are the ones who faithfully support their loved ones in war, encouraging them and giving them hope. It is easy to acknowledge that you may live or die when you are in battle, but it is not brave. It takes strength to believe that your brothers are going to come home safely, and only those who are truly brave will look them in the eye and tell them they will come home alive."

Darcy's lip quivered as she tried to think of what to say in response. Trying to give Steve a watery smile seemed to be the breaking point and she collapse against his hard chest, tears running openly down her cheeks. Steve quickly wrapped his arms around her in a comforting hug.

Perry suddenly felt like the unwanted audience that she was. Quietly, she got up from her seat, gave Steve a wink, and snuck out of the room. Darcy needed this alone time with Steve.

As she made her way to her apartment, Perry thought sadly over the state of things. She was never one to concern herself with relationships, in fact, she preferred being single. Sure, it was nice to go out once in a while, and Florida had provided more than enough beautiful men to warm her bed, but she never wanted to be tied down to anybody. But since moving to Stark Tower, her lack of meaningful relationships was becoming a recurring worry in the forefront of her mind. Jane and Thor were the sickeningly sweet and good looking couple. Tony and Pepper were the perfect couple. Even Darcy and Steve were pairing off nicely.

And then there was Perry…and Bruce? She was definitely attracted to the man, and she had already confessed to wanting to carry his science babies. But it was more than that, if such a thing was possible. She loved being around him and talking to him. She loved working alongside him. She loved the concern he had when she missed a day because of her infernal headaches. She loved the way he watched at her when he thought she wasn't looking. She even loved the god-awful ache she felt when they were apart, like she was feeling at that moment. But no matter how wonderful she felt around Bruce, she knew that it would never work out. Between his insecurity about the Hulk and her secrets that she was determined to keep from him at all costs, there was no way they could form any sort of healthy relationship.

Inside her apartment, Perry flopped herself down on the couch and pulled out her phone. Scrolling through her recent pictures, she found one that she had taken a week before. It was the night that she and Bruce ordered pizza for dinner and watched 40 Year Old Virgin (Bruce was a little behind on movies). For once, he had changed into a tee shirt and shorts. He was completely relaxed and was enjoying the movie much more than Perry had expected him too. When Bruce lost it at the chest waxing scene, and he threw his head back and let out a real laugh, Perry couldn't' resist taking a picture. Now as she looked at the very happy side of Bruce, and remembered how good it felt to see him not worrying about the Hulk for once, Perry made up her mind to make Bruce the happiest man alive. She may have her own issues preventing her from getting true relief, but nothing was going to stop her from making Bruce laugh like that every day.


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: This was a fun chapter :) There is also a but of smut in it too, so enjoy! Thank you so much for the newest favs and follows!**

* * *

"Bruce, you have to go to this party," whined Tony, following his friend into the lab. A few weeks had passed, and summer was swiftly coming to an end. Tony had been pestering Bruce about having a last warm-weather hurrah and a pool party seemed like the perfect way to end the season. Plus, it was Perry's birthday, so there was no excuse not to have some sort of get together.

"No."

"Oh come on, Perry would be so disappointed if you don't come –"

"No."

" – She will probably cry. If you make her cry, so help me, I will make you clean up the mess."

"She won't cry," Bruce mumbled, uncertainty creeping up in his voice. Would she really be that upset?

"Ok, so she won't cry, but she will get revenge, and you know what her revenge is like."

Bruce's face drained of color as he remembered Perry's revenge on Tony the week before. When Bruce went to turn on his computer that day, he was met by an image of Mr. Stark in his birthday suit with nothing more than a strategically placed mini sombrero for cover. Apparently it was a legitimate picture that Perry had managed to wiggle out of JARVIS' closely guarded system. This picture made its way onto every computer in Stark Tower, all because Tony told Bruce that she preferred men who were big and green in the sack. Of course, Tony thought it was hilarious and wore a sombrero around the building for the rest of the day, laughing like a maniac at people who refused to look him in the eye.

"Fine, I will go to the party. But don't expect me to swim," Bruce said begrudgingly.

Tony smacked him on the back and grinned. "That's the spirit."

* * *

Perry was definitely surprised by the party, a bittersweet surprised. She was happy that they had all been so thoughtful and planned this, but she was annoyed with herself for not figuring it out beforehand. She ran a rather impressive gossip mill in Stark Tower and Tony wasn't exactly subtle. But needless to say, she was not expecting the swimming session she had planned with Pepper to be a full on birthday party for her.

When she first arrived, Tony, Bruce, Pepper, and Darcy were already there, plus a few other R&D workers, lounging in white chairs along the pool edge. The huge room was decorated with large potted tropical plants that were draped with strings of Japanese lanterns. Tiki torches were scattered randomly around the room (no doubt planted by ADD prone Tony who was too excited to concentrate on a pattern) and the lights had been dimmed to a warm glow. They had even rigged up a fire pit to grill dinner on. A full bar was available, serviced by coconut top/grass skirt clad women.

Excited, Perry wandered about the room, admiring all of the decorations. The cake, which was cleverly designed by Tony, was shaped like a nuclear plant cooling tower and had a plastic Hulk action figure hanging on the side like King Kong. This elicited an eye-roll from Perry, but she was secretly pleased by Tony's merging of her two favorite things. For a moment, as she scanned over the crowd already gathered around the pool, she could feel the emotion collecting in her throat. People just didn't throw surprise parties for Perry Stark.

Ending up beside Bruce, she sat down on the end of his chair. "This is wonderful," she said, beaming widely at him. "I am so glad you guys did this."

Bruce blushed. "It was Tony's doing, really."

Perry reached out and patted his knee. "But you came. I really appreciate that."

The moment was broken by Tony showing up, his arms full of flowers. "You two need to get leied," he said loudly.

"What the hell," sputtered Bruce, already reaching his embarrassment threshold for the evening. Perry on the other hand snickered.

"Ew, get your mind out of the gutter," said Tony with a self-satisfied smirk. "You are not wearing leis," he explained, looping one around each of their heads.

Bruce gave Tony a brief blazing look before settling back into his chair and taking a long sip from his drink. Thank god it was an open bar because he was going to need a lot of alcohol to get through the night.

"So what are you going to do first?" Tony asked the birthday girl.

Giving him the Stark Grin (as Bruce had finally dubbed the wicked smile the pair had before doing something that horrified him), Perry promptly stood and yanked her dress over her head, revealing the swim suit (if you could call it that) that was underneath. Bruce choked on his drink as his wide eyes raked over the red bikini that left little of her amazing body to the imagination.

Tony clapped his friend on the back, the Stark Grin now plastered on his face as well. "Careful, Big Guy, asphyxiation isn't really a turn on anymore."

Perry swung a futile kick at Tony. "Ignore him," she said apologetically to Bruce. "Do you want to come swim with me?"

A muscle was twitching in Bruce's clenched jaw. Smiling tightly, he said ", maybe later, I am going to finish my drink now and contemplate disabling Tony's arc reactor."

Perry giggled while Tony feigned insult. "See the thanks I get? Just trying to help a guy out…" he muttered while walking away.

With one last lingering glance at Bruce, Perry jumped into the water and swam to the other side where she was unknowingly in full view, and earshot, of Bruce. She motioned for Darcy, who was wearing a rather patriotic bikini, to join her.

"Trying a little hard aren't we," Perry asked as the girl slid smoothly into the water.

Darcy rolled her eyes. "Oh please, what about you? I thought Dr. Banner was going to keel over when you whipped your dress over your head."

Perry chuckled. "That was a bit much, wasn't it?"

_No, it was wonderful_ thought Bruce, trying to look like he was suddenly fascinated in Tony's Hulk Grill Master impersonation at the front of the room.

"No wonder the poor man almost choked, you are jacked. What is your secret? Kickboxing? Street fighting? Ninja training?"

Bruce's eyes wandered back to the girls to find Darcy admiring Perry's flat stomach and muscled arms and legs. She wasn't overly muscled by any means, but she definitely fit. And those legs… Bruce had to turn away again before continuing down that train of thought.

Perry grinned at Darcy. "Well, I run and do a bit of yoga now and then –" Aha! Bruce knew it! " – But my real secret is alligator wrestling."

Bruce glanced over at Perry with a raised eyebrow. Surely she was joking, but knowing the Starks, he couldn't be sure. And she did live in the Everglades...

"Oh, whatever. Is that what you tell all the boys?" snickered Darcy.

"Well, look at you," said Perry, squeezing Darcy's arm. "You've got quite the gun show going on here."

Darcy blushed. "Steve has been teaching me how to box. I asked him to teach me so I could spend some more time with him, but it really is a lot of fun."

Perry nodded. "I bet it is. I know I wouldn't mind staring at that rear end of his in sweat pants."

"Oh you don't know the half of it. When he gets all sweaty he takes off –"

Just then, the girls were interrupted by a small disturbance at the end of the room. Standing by the bar was non-other than Captain America himself in a very tiny, very snug, set of blue swim shorts.

Darcy looked like she was melting. "Oh sweet Jesus," she mumbled.

Slapping on a Stark Grin, Perry waved Steve over two them. Of course, he complied, making Darcy turn bright red, a small whimper escaping from her mouth.

"Hello, Perry. Happy Birthday!" He said enthusiastically. "Darcy, it is good to see you too."

Darcy tried to look up, but her eyes couldn't quite make it past the blue bulge at the top of his thighs.

"Hello, Steve, I am so glad you came," said Perry sweetly. "I was just challenging Darcy to a race, but it seems that she can't swim. Since you are such a good boxing teacher, I thought maybe you could teach her how to swim as well." Darcy was stomping on her foot under the water, but she ignored it, her grin growing wider.

Steve smiled back politely. "Of course, I would be glad to teach Darcy how to swim."

"What are you doing?!" hissed Darcy as the Captain climbed down the ladder at the end.

Perry smirked triumphantly. "You can thank me later."

"Are you ready?" asked Steve, taking Darcy's hand.

The poor girl stared pitifully at his gleaming chest. "Y-yes."

* * *

An hour later, Darcy decided to take a drink break from her swimming lesson. With a round of cocktails, she sat with Perry and Pepper in some of the white lounge chairs beside the pool. Bruce had moved over to the fire pit and was helping Tony grill some meat while drinking a beer. Perry noticed that he seemed to be much more relaxed than she had seen him in a long time.

_This is just what he needed. If only he would look at me_, thought Perry. The entire evening, Bruce had carefully avoided staring at Perry. Unfortunately, that meant ignoring her.

Suddenly loud gasps from the front of the room broke Perry from her thoughts. Looking up, she was quite shocked to see Thor standing proudly in front of the pool, completely nude, except for the helmet on his head and mjolnir in his hand. Perry, Darcy, and Pepper stared at him completely dumbfounded. Bruce pinched the bridge of his nose, like he did when his patience was wearing thin, and Steve moved to stand in front of the young ladies working at the bar, shielding their eyes from the blond god's glory. Only Tony seemed enthused by this entrance, shouting, "All right girls, it is this kind of party now!"

"Now that I am here, the party shall begin!" roared Thor, beaming at everyone in the room, unfazed by their open mouths and averted eyes.

Jane burst into the room, running over to Thor with a towel in hand. With shaking fingers and a very red face, she tried to wrap the towel around Thor's hips.

"You have to put your swimming trunks on," she hissed through clenched teeth.

Thor pushed her hands, and towel away, and gave her a very confused look. "Is this not a birthday party? Darcy said I should wear my birthday suit."

"Yes, yes I did say that," mumbled Darcy, her eyes glued to Thor, oblivious to Jane's flaming glare.

"How many times have I told you not to listen to Darcy? Is there anyone else here with no clothes on?""

Thor frowned as he looked around again. Seeing everyone adequately clothed, his shoulders slumped and he turned toward the locker room.

"And now we get a view of the backside," murmured Pepper, taking a long sip of her cocktail.

Darcy and Perry nodded appreciatively.

"He definitely has god-like proportions," said Darcy, her eyes taking on that glazed look.

"I now have so much more respect for Jane," Perry said.

Darcy suddenly stood. "Where are you going?" Perry asked her.

Glancing over at Steve, who was now sitting alone at the bar, she said, "I think it is time to review mouth to mouth resuscitation with the Captain before our next swimming lesson."

* * *

By the end of the night, Perry was feeling quite giddy. Partially because she had a few too many drinks, and partially because she had a plan. Many people had already left the party. Darcy and Steve were the first to go, hand in hand, a bashful grin on Steve's face. Tony and Pepper left soon afterwards, Tony promising to seduce the memory of a naked Thor right out of her mind. Thor and Jane were still there, lounging together in the shallow end of the pool. It was sickening to see them wrapped up together, Jane's back against Thor's chest with her head nuzzled against his neck.

Seeing everyone occupied, Perry turned her attention on Bruce. He was sitting in one of the chairs with his eyes closed. Perry knew that he wasn't really sleeping, so she sauntered over to him as well as she could with her swimming head. He still didn't open his eyes, so she decided to go on to step two of the plan. With as much grace as she could muster, she swooned dramatically, landing intentionally on his lap. Bruce jumped, his eyes wide with surprise. Adjusting so that she was more comfortable, Perry leaned against him and wrapped her arms around his neck. Tucking her head under his chin, she sighed contentedly.

Bruce remained statue still for a moment, clearly shocked by the sudden contact, and then slowly moved his hands so they settled on her hip that was facing away from him. Turning his head slightly, his lips hovered just above her chlorine scented hair.

"What are you doing?" he asked quietly, not noticing that his thumbs had begun tracing patterns on her bare skin.

Perry shivered at the sensation and pressed into him. Bruce's breath caught, and he bit his lip to keep from letting out a moan. This woman was driving him crazy.

"You looked like you needed company," she said sweetly.

Bruce snorted. He knew Perry well enough to know that she never did anything with such innocent intentions.

"Thank you for coming to my birthday, Bruce," she said quietly. Looking down, Bruce saw that Perry was staring up at him with her lovely brown eyes. He could feel his good intentions weakening and he moved his right hand down her firm thigh. His thoughts were disjointed, incomplete, each train wandering back to the woman wonderfully settled on his lap.

"I have a present for you," he said. "It's in my room though."

The Stark Grin cropped up on Perry's face, making him cringe when he realized the underlying message she got out of what he just said.

"I-I mean that I didn't bring it down… I have to go get it…" he stuttered.

Perry slowly moved off of him, much to his displeasure, and stood beside him. Extending a hand to help him up she said, "Come on, we will go get it together."

Bruce took Perry's hand and slowly stood. Allowing her to pull him out of the room, he couldn't help but to think _What have I got myself into?_

* * *

Upstairs, Bruce settled Perry on the couch and went to fetch her present out of his bedroom. Although she had sat on that very couch numerous times before, he was suddenly hyper-aware of the fact that Perry was in his apartment wearing nothing but that tiny bikini. A few moments, and deep breaths, later he came back with a very thick and worn book.

"I'm sorry it isn't wrapped," he said, sitting beside her on the couch. Perry promptly scooted next to him so she was pressed against his side. "I wasn't sure if you would even want something like this…I know it isn't special or anything…"

Without a word, Perry reached over and plucked the book from Bruce's hands. He watched her nervously as she opened to the first page. The initial confusion she had was immediately replaced with recognition, then shock.

Looking up at Bruce with wide eyes, Perry said, "Bruce, are you sure you want to share this with me?"

Running his hand through his brown curls, Bruce nodded slowly. "I know it is a bit much, and there is nothing pretty to read in there, but I thought you might be interested in some of the information."

"Oh my god, Bruce. This is your own personal journal. Are you sure you want me to read all of that?"

Looking Perry square in the eye, he said, "I wouldn't want anyone else but you to read it."

"Oh, Bruce," she said softly, turning quickly away. As discreetly as possible, she dabbed at her eye with the back of her hand, but he noticed the action anyway. Reaching out, he took her hand, brushing away the wetness with his thumb.

"I started this after my first transformation. My intention was to record my reactions, their frequency, and their cause. But I also started writing down how I felt when the other guy showed up and my concerns. I am afraid it is rather intimate and it does show me at my worst, but I think it will help you with your research. "

Without warning, Perry clamored up on Bruce's lap, sitting with her thighs on either side of him, as she wrapped him in a tight hug. "You are an amazing man, Bruce Banner," she murmured in his ear.

Instinctively, his arms went around her, one around her waist, the other wrapped in her hair. He pressed his face against the crook of her neck, his breath tickling her collar bone, as she used her right hand to toy with his curls. Although he knew it was wrong, the hug was simultaneously raw and satisfying.

Bruce was distinctly aware of each place their skin touched, each spot sending shivers down his spine. Slowly he withdrew his fingers from her hair, skimming them down her neck and over her back, eventually stopping on her right thigh. Her breath shortened and Bruce realized that she was slowly pulling back from him. Daring a look, he saw that Perry's eyes were dark with sudden desire, driving his own thoughts into a tailspin. Whatever reinforcements his conscience sent forward in his mind were promptly shot down when Perry pressed tighter against him. The sensation was incredible and Bruce could feel his pants growing snug beneath her. His final undoing came when she let out a small moan and slowly rocked her hips against him.

Lifting his head, Bruce brushed his lips against her jaw as they moved toward their destination. Her mouth hovered just above his, ready and waiting, and Bruce found himself unable to resist its draw. The kiss was raw, just like the hug had been, and he found that her huger was equal to his own. Her hand was fisted in his hair as she turned her head slightly to deepen the kiss. Bruce's senses were blazing and his heart pounded victoriously in his chest. This wasn't the first time for him by any means, but something about Perry and the way she moved against his lips made him feel a primal sense of passion.

Slipping his hand into the waistband of her bottoms, Bruce pulled Perry fully against him so she felt the hard ridge of his arousal. The sudden movement made her gasp against his mouth, and Bruce took advantage of the lapse to slip his tongue past her lips. A moan sounded deep within Perry's throat and she returned the action with fervor. Bruce's mind had reached the point of overload, and the few thoughts he had bounced between removing red bikini top and sweeping her up in his arms to move her to his bedroom. Settling on the first, Bruce's hands moved to untie the halter string at the back of her neck.

Suddenly, Perry pushed back, grabbing his hands to still their movement. Panting for breath, she bit her lip and stared sadly down at Bruce's confused expression

"We have to stop," she said quietly. "We can't do this tonight."

Bruce suddenly felt very ashamed. Not only had he crossed the line of friendship that he had been carefully avoiding with Perry, but he had managed to put her in grave danger on her birthday. His face burning, he tried to lift her off his lap.

But Perry clung tightly to him, refusing to move over to the couch beside him. "Look at me, Bruce," she said, tilting his chin so that he had to look her in the eye. "I thoroughly enjoyed every last moment of what we just did. Hell, I can't wait to do it again. But you see, I have this little rule that I live by…I don't have sex on the first date."

Bruce's eyes widened. A little nagging voice in his mind kept reminding him that he could kill her if it happened again, but a much louder voice cheered at the thought of kissing her again…without stopping.

Perry grinned when she saw the conflicted looks flitting across Bruce's face. Swooping down, she pressed a lingering kiss against his lips. Grin still intact, she slowly removed herself from his lap and stood in front of him.

"Goodnight, Bruce. And thank you for the best birthday present ever."

Bruce watched her hungrily as she picked up the book and sauntered out of his apartment. Despite the sudden end to their activities, the side effects still remained. He waited as long as he could, hoping that the passing time would satiate his desires, but his arousal stayed intact. Sighing, he finally moved to settle his hand over his strained fly. He knew that the Other Guy, just like before, was going to let him have his release. As he slowly stroked his throbbing member, he couldn't help but to think Perry Stark was one hell of a woman if she could make both Bruce and the Other Guy as happy as he felt at that moment.


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: This chapter is a little short, but the next one will be longer. I promise. Anyway, I hope you enjoy :)**

* * *

Bruce was lost. Normally when life chucked a dose of reality at him, reminding him that the Other Guy transformed both his body and perception of daily living, he turned to Tony for advice. In worldly matters the billionaire was a vessel of information, and when it came to women Bruce wouldn't hesitate to seek the man's wisdom. But when it came to discussing potential sex with Tony's niece, he decided there were some things that an uncle never wants to hear.

With Tony out of the running and Perry being the source of Bruce's confusion, there were few people left that Bruce could talk to about the matter. Of the Avengers, Clint and Natasha were absolutely out of the question. Sure there seemed to be some sort of weird partnership between the two, but Bruce was pretty sure any dating advice from them would center around mutual weapon cleaning and target practice. Thor had centuries of experience with women, but being a god was usually all it took for him to bed the lady of his choice. Besides, did Asgardians even go on dates? The last possible teammate was Steve, the man who had been a bigger nerd than Bruce before the serum. His experience with women was limited to camaraderie with a superior officer that ended with a brief kiss before he crashed into the ice. And the captain was so ignorant to Darcy's blatant advances – even Bruce could see that the girl was after him.

With all of the Avengers ruled out, Bruce considered others in the tower. There really weren't very many people in Stark Tower that he knew, and virtually none that he trusted. Pepper would be his first choice, but since everything that they discussed would become Tony's information as well (whether she actually told him or he found out from JARVIS, Bruce wasn't sure) he decided she wouldn't be his best choice for a confidant. The last two acquaintances that might be able to give him a little insight were Jane and Darcy. It wasn't a perfect solution, but it had to suffice.

The two girls were working alone in the Astrophysics lab when he arrived. In some ways he was relieved that Thor was not there, but he soon realized that this would be his first time talking to either of the women alone. Taking a deep breath, he pushed through the door.

"Hello Dr. Banner," said Darcy cheerily from her seat, "What can we do for you?" Across the room, Jane looked up from her work, interested in this surprise visitor.

Bruce cleared his throat and glanced back and forth between the women, trying to think about how to approach the topic. "Um, I need some advice and Tony is about as useful as a knife in your foot," he said.

The girls shared a knowing glance, each smirking as they watched the nervous doctor awkwardly shuffle his feet and wring his hands.

"Sure, we can help you out," said Jane politely. She sympathized with the man and wanted to alleviate his distress.

Darcy on the other hand, reveled in his discomfort. "You know, I am surprised you aren't asking Perry for advice. You two are close, aren't you?" she asked slyly. Jane shot her sharp glance, but Darcy brushed it off with one of her charming smiles.

Bruce breathed deeply again before continuing. "Well, um, the advice I need is about her." Feeling the anxiety build up in his chest, he began pacing to avoid looking directly at either of the women as he spoke. "Last night, Perry and I kind of… well we… we went up to my room and…uh, we kissed," Bruce sputtered, his face flushed deep red.

Jane nodded enthusiastically, giving Bruce an encouraging smile. Darcy grinned wickedly, leaning forward to thoroughly enjoy Bruce's confession. "Go on," she said.

Bruce pinched the bridge of his nose. "So yeah, we kissed and it kind of…progressed. Things were getting, uh, good when –" he cut off when he noticed that Darcy's shoulders were shaking with silent laughter. "Perry already told you all of this, didn't she?" he asked wearily.

Darcy laughed out loud. "Yes she did, although she made it sound a lot juicier than what you are describing."

"She probably described it perfectly," he muttered, rolling his eyes.

"What sort of advice were you looking for?" asked Jane.

Bruce hesitated. He was already beginning to regret the decision to include Darcy in this discussion. "Perry said that she doesn't…you know…on the first date."

A puzzled look crossed Jane's face. "A lot of women don't sleep with a man on the first date. That wasn't what you were intending, was it? If so, let me just tell y –"

"Oh god no!" interrupted Bruce, horrified that she would make that assumption. Darcy was nearly rolling with laughter at that point. "I just want to make sure I am correct in assuming that she wants to go on a date with me."

Both women stared at him with completely bewildered expressions, making Bruce suspect that he was way off the mark.

"Of course she wants to go on a date with you," said Darcy slowly as though she was speaking to a child. "I thought you were some sort of genius or something."

Frustrated, Bruce raked his hand through his hair and began pacing again. "I can't help it, she is so hard to read. Hell, all of you are hard to read. I mean all of the signs say she is interested, but what if I am misinterpreting all of the data? Maybe I haven't considered all of the variables leading up to last night's events. Maybe – "

"Okay, that is where I have to stop you," said Jane. "You can't think about Perry as one of your experiments. Quit trying to quantify your time together or collect data. There isn't just one or two variables in this, there are far more than you can ever count, but I can guarantee that observing her like a lab rat is a variable that will screw up your hypothesis. Get what I am saying?"

Bruce chewed his lip silently. Oh he understood what she was saying, loud and clear, but all the variable talk got him thinking about another possible flaw in his experiment. He never quit thinking about the Other Guy, nothing could distract him from that, but for just a bit he began to believe that Perry appealed to both of them enough for something good to happen. Last night the Other Guy did not seem to mind Bruce having a moment with Perry, in fact he seemed to enjoy it. But would he really be able to hold out? Would the Other Guy actually give him a chance with her, or was he making her feel safe so he could attack?

"Hello, Earth to Bruce," called Darcy, breaking him out of his thoughts.

"S-sorry," he stuttered. "I was just thinking."

Jane gave him another one of her polite smiles. "I think you should take her on a nice date, someplace she would enjoy."

"I don't know… me and the general population don't mix well," muttered Bruce.

"No way," said Darcy. "You already have dinner in Stark Tower with her every night. It wouldn't be a real date if you just add kissing after dessert. You have to go somewhere fun."

"The planetarium is having a special right now. They are showing viewings of the Perseid Meteor Shower," offered Jane.

"Bleh, boring," said Darcy, wrinkling her nose. "I would suggest baseball, but I don't think the Cards are in town anytime soon."

Bruce shook his head. "They aren't…God, why do I even know that?"

Darcy clucked her tongue and wagged a finger at the man. "You've got it bad, Dr. Banner."

* * *

After his conversation with Jane and Darcy, Bruce decided a cup of coffee was just what he needed to prepare himself for facing Tony in the lab. He knew that there was a coffee shop on the second floor that he had never been adventurous enough to try, but after last night he was feeling a bit braver than usual.

Ordering a small black coffee, he found a seat away from the other workers and pulled out his phone to read over the morning's headlines. It was no different than any other morning's news; some politician harping about non-issues, acts of violence around the world, some celebrity "slamming" another one. It was same stuff different day.

Moving to the science section, he skimmed over an interesting article about a new development in removing brain tumors that were previously considered inoperable. Immediately, he thought of Perry and her research. This was right up her alley. Finishing the rest of his coffee, he quickly emailed the article to her so they could discuss it later.

* * *

"Soooo, did you have any fun last night," asked Tony the moment Bruce stepped into their lab. He clearly had been waiting all morning for the doctor to come in.

Masking an annoyed eye roll, Bruce walked over to desk and began turning on his computer and getting set up for the day's work. Tony followed him, hopping up on Bruce's desk and daintily crossing his legs while he waited. Bruce bit back a smile as he thought about all the times Perry had sat on his desk the same way. Glancing around the lab, he quickly noticed that she wasn't there.

"You can't get out of answering me, Big Guy."

Sighing, Bruce gave Tony his best nonchalant look. "Yeah, it was a good party," he said, silently praying that his voice didn't give anything away. He really didn't need Tony prying into the events of his and Perry's after party.

But as usual, Tony could not be fooled. "Right, 'good party' is Boring Banner speak for 'fucking awesome party.'"

Bruce shook his head, reaching past Tony to begin opening the programs he needed on the computer. Most of the time, Tony would go away when Bruce ignored him, his attention span dropping merciless teasing at lightning speed in favor of some other entertainment. But nothing could draw him away from the obvious change written all over Bruce's face.

"So what held you up this morning?" Tony continued, picking up a stack of Bruce's notes and flipping through them. Of course, Bruce immediately yanked them out of his hands and stashed them in a slightly safer place. "I bet you got yourself some honey last night, if you know what I mean."

Bruce shook his head, giving Tony another eye roll. "You are incorrigible," he muttered.

"Oh-Oh, you totally did! Let me guess, you got one of our little hula girls. Or Susan from engineering, I saw her making eyes at you."

"Who is Susan?" asked Bruce, now scanning over the previous day's data. He was trying very hard to appear busy and unconcerned with Tony's speculation, but inside he having a mini panic attack.

Tony hopped off the desk and leaned over Bruce's shoulder, pretending that he was interested in the information on the computer screen. "Or maybe you spent the night groping my niece," he said quietly. Dangerously.

Bruce jumped in alarm, bumping into Tony and knocking him backwards. Spinning around, the doctor's wide eyes met his friend's equally surprised expression. Tony managed to catch himself before he fell and drew himself to his full height over Bruce. "I dearly hope that was simply a reaction of thinking about groping my niece instead of remembering," he said, continuing to use his dangerous tone.

In some physics defying way, Bruce's eyes grew wider as he tried to sputter a response. "I haven't… I never…We…no..."

Tony rolled his eyes and took a step closer. "Oh come on, Bruce. Your secret is safe with me. I know you have thought about all of the things you want to do to Perry." Although he maintained the angry uncle/dad act, Tony was dying inside with sheer amusement at Bruce's panicked reaction. He took another step so they were standing toe to toe. "But I will tell you this one time only: If you hurt her, in any way, I will personally kill you over and over again."

Bruce's breaths were coming in short bursts and he tried to link together a cohesive response. Tony was terrifying! But he was saved from answering by the clatter of the lab door opening and footsteps heading to where Tony had the poor doctor cornered.

Perry wedged herself between the two men. Facing Bruce, she gave him a quick wink. "Sorry I'm late, Tony. Bruce's gift –" she pressed a hand on Bruce's chest "- kept me up all night. I just didn't want to get out of bed this morning."

Her comment elicited red faces from both men, although Bruce's was from embarrassment and Tony's from surprise. Grinning at their expressions, Perry leaned over and pecked Bruce on the cheek before sauntering over to her work area. Bruce watched her as she moved, his flush renewing as he remembered her retreat from the previous night. Tony noticed this, his jaw clenching as a wave of genuine protectiveness crashed over him. Quickly, he turned away and stalked out of the lab.

* * *

An hour later, Perry had finally finished with her morning tests and observations and settled in front of her computer to check her email. Bruce was just finishing up a calculation he had spent the hour working on and decided to use Perry's break to make his first attempt at asking her on a date. Walking over to her desk, he was quite surprised to see her eyes wide and red as they stared at the computer screen, and her lip was quivering like she was about to cry. He couldn't imagine what could bring out a reaction like that.

"Um, Perry?" he asked, capturing her attention. She quickly bit her lip to stop it from shaking as she looked up at him. "I wanted to ask you something." That was smooth…not.

"What's that?" she asked over brightly.

Bruce quirked an eyebrow, but continued with his awkward wooing. "Well after last night I was wondering if you wanted to do something? You know, go on a date? I, uh, thought of a few places –"

Suddenly Perry jumped up from her seat. "Oh, Bruce. I'm sorry. I can't do this. I-I-I can't explain it, you just don't want me. Trust me." Without allowing Bruce to respond, she went running out of the lab, not even bothering to turn off her computer or put away her work.

Bruce stared after her for a few minutes, completely bewildered by what had just transpired. Last night she was perfectly happy, more than happy, to be with him. Even this morning she flirted with him. Or was she just trying to piss Tony off? Had he misread everything that badly? Jane and Darcy seemed to think that Perry was interested. And she said he didn't want her? Where in the world would that come from? He definitely wanted her. True, he had tried to resist her draw, but now that they had crossed that bridge there was no going back.

Stepping around her desk, Bruce decided to look at her computer and see just what had up set her so much. There displayed on the screen was the very article he had emailed her this morning. Bruce gasped in surprised. He thought she would find the article as intriguing as he did. Instead, this new information was somehow emotionally distressing to her. Pinching the bridge of his nose, Bruce also left the lab and headed towards his quarters. As he walked slowly down the corridor, he couldn't help thinking that he had managed to seriously derail his one surefire chance get a date with the most wonderful woman he had ever met.


End file.
